Faith and Dreams
by AidanPryde001
Summary: When a young man tries to find his purpose in life, he never expected answers or his dreams for that matter in Tokyo! The Gang, on the other hand, has no idea what they are getting into! Romance and action ensue. Has Mina finally found the one?COMPLETE!
1. A Meeting of Fate

Well, hello all! I am excited to announce that this is my first attempt at a completed fanfic! I have started many a fizzle, but this one I am confident to see through to the end. It's my take onhow our destinies are not truly set for us, and sometimes, it takes a certain someone to guide you through life. Anyway, enough of my rambling, ON WITH THE SHOW!

I want to thank my editor, Alicia Blade. She has helped me tremedously throughout this process, and I would like to redirect some of your attention to her works.

Also, anyone who makes reviews will be acknowledged and your questions will be answered. For now, I hope that you all enjoy the show! Domo and Osu!

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack! This story and the main character, however, are mine, and I will defend him with my very own life if need arise.

_Italics: Thoughts_

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Prologue: "Have you ever had a wish?"

A lone figure stood by a fountain in the center of his college campus. He was dressed in his usual attire, jeans, a black tee-shirt and his favorite black leather jacket that he got as a present from his grandfather. He was a bright, brown haired, deep brown eyed, 5'11", 19 year old American. It was early evening on a Friday night. The sun was about to set over the west end of the campus, and the figure was staring into the vast pool of crystal water. He usually did this, a routine that most of the other students became accustomed to. All but a few. He had friends, yes, but he felt that something was missing. Why was he so alone? And why did he occasionally feel warm and aggressive when confronting wrong? He often came to the fountain to remember his childhood. He would loose himself in those wonderful memories. They were carefree, fun, and loving, something that he felt when around his parents, or his girlfriend. Well, usually. He felt like he was failing in both of those areas. Why couldn't he find what he was supposed to do? So, every Friday, he would come to the fountain and contemplate life. Today was different, however. Today, he had a rare Japanese yen that his father had given him during one of his trips to Tokyo. He remembered what his father had told him, "Son, why are you so serious? Your purpose is written for you, you just have to have faith that one day, and you'll find it." Hah! He wasn't doing any good staring at this fountain, feeling sorry for himself. For the first time in seven years, he made a wish. "I wish that I might discover the faith that I need to complete my purpose."

With that very 'vague' wish, he let the yen fall from his grasp into the crystal water of the fountain. When the yen stopped on the bottom of the fountain, the area around the young man instantly transformed into the central park of downtown Tokyo.

Chapter 1: "A Meeting of Fate"

The person was blinded by a light, and then a new landscape started to become clear. When the young man could finally see well enough to walk, he decided to explore. The people around him all had looks of curiosity, but none of them approached. He decided to try and find out what he was doing in Tokyo.

"Excuse me miss, but what…" he stopped in mid sentence with the woman he confronted. _I just spoke almost _perfect _Japanese! What the crap is going on? _

"Yes?" the woman asked, clearly impressed with the American's grasp of the native tongue.

"I'm sorry, but could you tell me where I am? I think I am lost."

"Certainly. You are in the central park of Tokyo."

"What!"

"That's right. It is 8:30 in the morning."

He quickly regained his composure. "Thank you. Have a nice day." _Geez, can't you come up with something better than that? _

"And you, young man." They parted ways, and left the guy to his confusion.

"Well, I might as well see the sights while I'm here." He started to walk to the exit of the park. While he was walking, he passed several signs that he read without hesitation. This startled him at first, and then he realized that he must have somehow been blessed with the gift of Japanese language. When he finally passed through the gates of the park, the size of his problem seemed to dawn on him. "How the heck am I going to function here? I don't even know what I am doing here." Suddenly, he remembered his father's last words before he left for college. "Have faith." He resolved to give this to faith, and he continued to walk, staring at the large mass of buildings, until he collided with someone.

"OUCH!" the female voice said as they both collapsed in a heap.

"I am so sorry, miss. Let me help you…" The young man then heard giggling from the direction the girl came from. _Oh great, what an embarrassment! _Then he got a good look at the girl he ran into. She looked so familiar… then it hit him!

"Serena!"

"Hey, how did you know who I was?" the girl responded. She had blonde hair put up into two ponytails and buns that resembled meatballs. She had blue eyes and a shocked look on her face.

"Oh, uh a good guess maybe? You looked like a Serena, so I just took my chances. I'm really sorry, are you ok?" _Wow, you almost blew it. Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out… wait, no, she _is _here too. Aww crap. Too late._

He was helping to lift Serena up from the ground when he spotted her. She was the girl that got him through the misery of middle school. She was what he had envisioned his girlfriend to be. She had long blonde hair with a red ribbon in it and deep blue eyes, the kind that you can get lost in. He came close, but it took all of his self control to remain calm and ask the girl her name.

"And who might you be, my dear?" The girl blushed at his request. He pulled that off even better than he expected.

"Mina Aino. And you?" she said, extending her hand in the polite gesture of greeting.

"Jonathan Fowler." he said, taking the offered hand.

"Well, Mr. Fowler, you mind explaining why you ran right into me?" asked Serena.

"I am sorry about that. It is my first time here and I was not watching where I was going."

"That sure explains… hey, it's your first time in Tokyo?"

"Well yes, why do you ask?"

"It's just that your Japanese is almost perfect. Where are you from?" Serena asked.

"I'm from America. I really have no memory of coming here, though."

"Hmm…. That is odd. Well, I am sorry about this. Do you have a place to stay while you are here?" Mina suddenly asked.

"I really don't think so." When she heard that, she blossomed. It seemed that her entire energies had suddenly exploded into a red that covered her from head to toe.

"Is that so? Then you need a place to stay. I have an idea! My apartment isn't far from here. My parents are never really there and we have a spare bedroom. You could stay with us!" She seemed to be getting really into this.

"Well, I really don't want to impose…" he didn't even get to finish when Mina grabbed him by the arm and started to drag him away.

"Don't be silly, there is plenty of room! Oh and I hope you like cats." Jonathan really didn't have a choice. Even if he did, there was no way he was wasting this opportunity.

_My childhood crush has a crush on ME! How cool is this?_

Meanwhile, Serena was left to nurse the bump on her head. All of the sudden, her cat Luna appeared from the bushes. Serena asked her, "Why did you bolt when he ran into me?"

"He gave off very weird vibes. To tell you the truth, I was scared of him."

"You were WHAT? You never get scared at things like this."

"Yes I know, but this was something bigger than I have ever felt before. I think we need to talk to the others."

"You're right. I'll go get them." Serena and Luna left to meet with the other three girls.

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I know that this is my first, and I would love to here from you about anything. Especially concerning the sequel. I have yet to form a solid outline for the story, so everything is up in the air at this point. Thanks and R&R Kudasai? 


	2. Sometimes, Ignorance is Bliss

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter Two: "Sometimes, Ignorance is Bliss"

Serena and Luna gathered all of the other girls in Rei's temple. They all were wondering why they had been brought out of their Saturday routines.

"So, what's this all about, Meatball Head?" asked Rei, the raven haired girl who was clearly annoyed.

"Yeah," piped Ami, who was in the middle of her studies when she got the call. "What's all the ruckus?" Even Lita looked perturbed. She was in the middle of a cooking class.

"Well, in my defense, Luna wanted to see all of you." Serena tried to shift the attention to the cause of all of the mean looks.

"Oh." they all said. "Well?"

The cat wasn't used to being treated this way. She was, after all, their mentor. This was too important to let it rest.

"I'm sorry to bother you all, but something very, _very _big has just arrived." She was genuinely scared.

"That's funny," said Rei, "I thought that I would be able to feel something big enough to cause you such a scare. I wonder if you are feeling well?" When Luna finally calmed all of then down enough, she began to retrace the day for them.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Tokyo…

_Holy Crap! This girl must be made of money! I always wanted to do this._

Jonathan mused while he was drug to shops and sights that he was really not paying any attention to. He was totally focused on his dream. _Wow! I still can't believe that I am actually shopping with her!_ He never could have imagined what that experience would be like. Now it was all coming to life, right then and in the flesh. Then he realized that he was really tired. When he left his time, it was around 5:30 in the afternoon. He could tell by the sun's low position in the sky that it was nearing the same time.

"Hey, Mina." he timidly asked.

"Yeah?" she answered from behind a large bag of stuff that she had just bought.

"Say, what time is it?" He was trying his best to suppress his actual excitement.

"You said that in English. It is a good thing that I can speak it, right?" she answered in English. That seemed to wake Jonathan up enough to reply, "That was good! I guess I tend to slip up when I am tired. Could we call it a day?" He seemed to really be tired.

"Sure. I don't live too far from here. You could stay as long as you want. By the way, it is 4:30." "Thanks," came the muffled reply from the large, mobile bags of commodities. He didn't want her to think that he wasn't polite. He also wanted to get to see the others.

Mina led Jonathan to a large multi-storied apartment building. On the fourth floor, she stopped at door 6A. "Here we are! Hey mom! DAD! Artemis?" she asked as they entered. There was no immediate response, so they began to put away the items in the bags that Jonathan brought home for her. When they were finally in the living room and all of the days purchases were put in there right places, a little white cat came out of a far room. He looked at Mina and Jonathan, and yawned. When he retreated into the kitchen, Jonathan asked Mina where he would be staying. She pointed down the hall and said, "Second door on the left. Make your self at home. Artemis and I are going to visit some friends of ours. We kinda forgot that we had an appointment to meet them today." she said with a giggle.

Jonathan couldn't help but laugh and smile. "How could I feel any different to you? Go and see your friends. They are probably waiting. I'll be fine."

She could see that he meant what he said. "Ok! See you later. Bye!" she said and then scooped up Artemis and started to leave the building. Jonathan waited until he heard the elevator doors close before he made his move. _I need to take this carefully. One mistake and that cat will alert her to my presence. _With a grace he never thought possible, he exited Mina's apartment and locked the door behind him. _There was a lot of expensive stuff in there; I wouldn't want my stuff to be taken! I'm glad that Mina has a key!_ He moved to the stair case and descended to the bottom floor. He arrived as Mina and Artemis were leaving the lobby.

He fell in at a 50 yard distance to allow for sound and smell. He didn't want to risk discovery. This was the most curious thing that he had ever done. Well, that and the time that he wanted to find out about what happens when heat and a live bullet are mixed. He still thought that he could see the hole in the wall of his room. When Mina turned a corner and up a flight of stone stairs, he knew that he had reached his destination. He made a mental note of the temple's location for future reference. That also gave Mina time to enter the temple and get engrossed with the loud conversation that was already in progress. Jonathan then made his way up the stairs and onto a low roof overhang. He took up an observation position by a window overlooking a large meeting room with seven people and three cats occupying the space. _Great! They are all here! I better wait for a while to let the serious conversations die. Then I'll have to think of a clever entrance._

While Jonathan was thinking of his entrance, Luna was busy trying to organize the conversation, which had been disrupted by everyone when Mina finally showed up. There were the usual suspects, Lita, an auburn haired, brown eyed girl who was the strength of the outfit, Ami, the blue haired blue eyed genius, and Rini, a pink haired girl who adopted Serena's meatball head hair style. There was also a young man, about twenty one that accompanied the group. He sat in a corner with Serena hanging on one arm and Rini on the other. He looked content enough. The three cats took up the table in the center of the room like a living centerpiece. The group was a buzz trying to ask Mina all about her day, and why she hadn't called.

"Will you all LISTEN TO ME!" Luna yelled and finally got the attention of all the girls. "There. That's better. Can we discuss the danger before the day? Please?" When the party finally nodded, she said, "Good. Now, as I had said before, I felt something very, very powerful today. It wasn't like anything that I have felt before. It could be really dangerous. I want all of you to be on the look out for anything out of the ordinary." When Luna finished, she made eye contact with each person present to emphasize her point.

"Oh, come on Luna. We just finished with Nehelania and the Dark Moon. Can't we have a normal life for like, a week?" Lita surprised everyone present with that comment. She usually wasn't one for such outbursts.

"Of course. I just don't want you guys to fall into a sense of complacency. Evil could strike this world any second."

"OK. We understand. We will all be careful." the entire party said in unison.

"Good. Now Mina, you can finish answering the questions you were posed earlier."

As if she needed any invitation. "Well, I met a guy today." This was met by loud outbursts and gasps.

Rei spoke louder than them all, "Well, is he going to be something special, or is he going to end up like all the rest of your failed attempts?" Rini surprised everyone when she spoke on Mina's behalf, "Would you all stop it? I think that it is really sweet that Mina has found a friend. She should have our support!"

The guy she was holding onto looked down at his future daughter, "That's right, Rini. We should all try and help Mina with her new boyfriend." When Mina heard Darien say that, she blushed and spoke up, "Well, he's not my boyfriend. At least I don't think that I am ready. We only just met! Serena how did you and Darien know that you two were something special?"

"Darien and I started out really not liking each other, but it turned out that we both just couldn't accept the fact that we liked each other. It just kinda blossomed from there."

"Oh. Well, I don't want to rush things."

Jonathan finally decided to make his move.

"Miiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnaaaaaa! MIIIIIIIINNNNNNAAAAA! This is the voice of God! Don't play games with that young man's heart."

While the party looked around frantically trying to find the source of the mysterious voice, Jonathan tried gracefully to jump down into the room form his perch. He failed. The fall was too much for his ankles, and when he hit the floor, they gave way and he fell right on his butt. It took two seconds for the girls to get over the shock and they lost it.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Rei, Ami, Lita, Rini, and Darien all said in a unified voice. The three cats bolted when Jonathan came crashing down. Serena was the first to recover and said in a shaky voice, "This is Mina's new friend, Jonathan Fowler. How did you get up there?" Mina was visibly shaken, and thought, _I hope that they like him. _Then, after a second, _I hope he's alright!_ She was too embarrassed to greet him, so Jonathan started to introduce himself to the group.

When he finally got to Rini and Darien, he said, "Looks like we got ourselves a regular Ladies Man!" Everyone like the joke, and Mina loosened up a little. Since he didn't get an immediate response of "My name is", he decided to start a conversation. "How are you doing, Rei?" He felt like an idiot. _Oh man! I just blew it, Big time! Quick, think!_ He almost hit himself for being so stupid.

"How did you know my name? And why were you on my roof?" She looked at him with an inquisitive and suspicious glare. _AHA! "_I'm psychic!" was the almost unbelievable reply. That brought looks of suspicion from all the girls. "Yeah," said Rei, "Prove it!"

_Ok. Here we go. _"You live here in this temple as a caretaker, and with the help of your grandfather and a guy named," he rubbed his head to emphasize deep thought, "Chad. He has had a very, very big crush on you, and you keep tearing his heart out!" All of the girls giggled at the comment, and Rei blushed a deep red.

"Oh, do Ami next!" Serena said. _This is too easy, _he thought. "Ok. Ami. You want to go to medical school and study to become a doctor. You also have a brand new, state of the art, personal PDA." She looked at him as if he were a specter. "How did you… But that's scientifically impossible…" Jonathan interrupted her, "Hey, nothing's impossible." He said that with a confidence that filtered throughout the room.

"Now, let's see. Lita!" When she heard her name, she jumped. Apparently, she feared this moment. "Now now, it doesn't hurt. You are… an amazingly gifted cook. You…" he stopped. "YOU WHAT!" Everyone said at once.

"No. I don't think that you all would like to here this." He looked at Lita with a deep sadness in his eyes. "I know." was all he said. She looked back at him, and tears welled up in her eyes. "It's ok, really. Everyone here knows." Jonathan didn't even finish what he was going to say about how her parents died in a plane crash. He didn't want to spoil any friendship he might have in the future. "Darien. Now here's a tough nut to crack." Jonathan made a show of trying to get a vision. "You had a traumatic childhood, but then rose to overcome the difficulty. You are currently a college student," he paused for emphasis. "And your dating a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD? What the heck?" he said with a smile.

Everyone loved the joke and he took it in stride. He turned to Serena, who was hugging his arm like a human vice. "Well, she is the best thing that ever happened to me." That response earned him a kiss, and one that he clearly enjoyed.

Jonathan laughed to himself. _This is so much fun! I forgot how tired I was. _Rini was looking at him with a weird look in her eyes. She seemed to be in a dream state, taking in all of his features. At eleven, she was the youngest person present. She blushed when he called her name. "Your turn, Rini." She jumped at his address. "Now now, you are a bit too young for me to just look into your heart. You still need to get accustomed to your surroundings. Just like me!" He said enough for the girls to become satisfied and Rini to relax. She thought that he could see into her true self, Sailor Mini Moon. The gang stayed up for another hour or so, small talking, when Jonathan said, "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I am awfully tired." mimicking Ami's British accent.

The girls all laughed and he rose to leave.

Mina stopped him, "Wait!" He paused. "Do you know the way back?" Deep down, he thought, _Actually, Mina, I don't know how to get home. But I do know where I can find a soft bed. _Instead, he answered, "Of course. I got here, didn't I?" And with that, he was gone.


	3. A Shot Heard in Hell

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 3 "A Shot Heard in Hell"

When they were sure that Jonathan had left and wasn't up on the roof, the three cats returned.

"Where did you run off to? You _all_ bolted this time!"

Luna seemed hurt. "Well, you didn't want him to think that a cat was talking to you guys about vibes now, would you?" Artemis spoke up, "Yeah, and besides, I felt what Luna was talking about when he jumped down here. There is something big going on, and it IS scary." The small gray cat spoke next, "Mommy, Daddy, how long was he listening to us?" Diana, the little gray cat, said and the gang froze. "DID HE HEAR ANYTHING?" was the silent thought of everyone present. "I would think that he would have questions if he heard something about a presence, wouldn't you guys?" asked Mina. She was clearly trying to hide her feelings and failing.

"Mina's got a point." Darien said. "I mean, if I heard something about vibes and a cat talking, I would really have questions."

That seemed to satisfy the crowd, and they all got up to go to the movies. After all, it was a Saturday night.

Jonathan didn't go straight back to the apartment. Instead, he waited for the gang to emerge and take in some night life. He followed at a safe distance again, until he took a wrong turn. At the end of a long alley, he saw a busy street. Curiosity took over, and he ventured out onto the sidewalk. And right into Serena again. This time, she didn't loose her footing, on account of a 6' anchor.

When he picked himself up off the ground, he said, "We really need to stop meeting like this."

Before anyone could speak, the ground began to quake violently. The party turned and saw a gaping hole in the center of the street. It glowed a menacing blood red as it slowly expanded to the size of a city bus. When the street finished it's transformation, a horrific roar erupted from the deep. The girls all looked at each other and thought, "How can we transform with him here?"

They didn't have to worry. As soon as the roar ceased, a massive figure rose from the hole and charged at them. It was massive, bi-pedal, humanoid in appearance, and had a punch that could topple a small house. The group was all thrown in different directions. The girls caught the swing of the massive muscular fore arm and were thrown far out into the street. The general public went hysterical and ran for their lives. Jonathan was thrown into a nearby storefront window, shattering the glass and rendering him unconscious.

Darien managed to avoid the blow, and carried the three cats to safety. "You guys should stay out of sight. We'll handle this!" Luna tried to call after him, "Wait!" but it was too late. Darien had already gone and transformed into Tuxedo Mask. When he reached the street, the six girls were already transformed and addressing the Hell Knight with their usual, "We will punish you." catch phrase. They were cut short. The beast charged at them, not even hearing what they had to say. It lunged at Sailor Mars, and flung her twenty feet through the air and into a parked car. "You'll pay for that!" screamed Sailor Jupiter, who charged up her Thunderclap. It seemed to slow the monster, but it shrugged off the pain as if it were a mere annoyance.

The beast was easily 10' tall, had no visible eyes, and a huge, muscular frame. It had a large mouth with very large teeth. It's gray skin rippled with all of the muscular tension beneath it. It seemed to seethe hate. The girls had a tough fight ahead of them.

Meanwhile, Jonathan awoke to a very big headache. _Aw man! Why do I feel like I just got hit by a bus? _Then he remembered. "Crap!" he said as he got up and looked out the shattered window to the fight that was taking place 100 yards down the street. "I've got to do something."

Then it hit him. He turned around and felt his heart leap into his throat. As luck would have it, the Hell Knight did him a favor. He was inside a military surplus gun store. He collected his thoughts and moved quickly to the empty sales counter. He found a large military duffle and unzipped it. From the counter, he grabbed two Model 1911 .45ACP's, .45ACP ammo, and spare magazines. He loaded the magazines as quickly as possible, and rammed fresh ammo home in both the pistols. He stuffed them in the duffle, as well as all of the .45 ammo he could find. He then found an over-under, double barreled 12 gauge shotgun, which he also stuffed in the duffle. He picked up three boxes of 12 gauge ammo and placed them in the bag.

As he got up, he looked up on a shelf behind the counter. What he saw took his breath away. It was a large, single shot, military grade, anti-tank rifle. The long barrel of the rifle was almost an inch and a half thick, allowing for the large prey that it usually handled. It had a military sniper scope with an Infra Red setting for use in night operations. Slung underneath it was a bandoleer of ammo for it. He grabbed the bandoleer and put it on. He took one of the shells out and readied the rifle for firing.

It was a beauty; about half as tall as Jonathan. When the rifle was loaded, he picked up the duffle and walked out into the street. He could see the beast as it assailed his new friends. He couldn't let them know that he knew. Yet. He released the mounted tripod that was slung underneath the rifle and lowered it onto the hood of an abandoned car. He carefully took aim and shouted, "GET DOWN!"

The girls were having a harder time with this fight than they had with a monster in a long time. Also, the beast that they fought was more menacing than anything they had faced before. Not at all anything like the Nega-verse threw at them.

"We are going to need some help!" Sailor Moon said.

Almost as if on cue, a rose flew at the huge mass of muscle. "You have no right to… Hey! You're not listening!"

Tuxed Mask was visibly annoyed at the lack of attention the monster showed him. "Tell us something we don't know!" screamed Sailor Moon. The rose penetrated the beast's skin, but it did nothing to quell the anger it felt. It seemed to just make it more angry.

"Great! Now it's really mad!" Jupiter said as she tried to land a few kicks. She only succeeded in being flung into a car like Mars had been.

The girls were getting desperate. They all backed away to regroup and think of a strategy.

That was probably what saved them.

"GET DOWN!" came a familiar voice from behind them.

As if acting on instinct, the girls all dropped to the asphalt and covered their heads. Tuxedo Mask hadn't moved from his perch atop a street light and watched the whole thing with awe.

Jonathan lined up his shot. He felt a strange tingling sensation, almost like when he would listen to an exceptional piece of music. Except that this feeling didn't have the side effect of tickling. He felt the energy flow from his toes, all the way to the tip of his right index finger that was poised over the AT rifle's trigger. He took a deep breath, let half of it out, and squeezed the trigger.

When the shot discharged, he felt the energy that was collected in his finger leap from the tip, to the gun and out the barrel wrapped around the large projectile. The bullet's discharge from the barrel was violent. A two meter wide gout of flame issued from the mussel and the shockwave shattered the windows of the car he was braced against. The effect on the beast was much, much worse. When Jonathan fired, the Hell Knight was slightly stooped, aligning his head with the center of his torso. This gave Jonathan only one target. The round streaked over the girls and impacted right where the beast's nose would have been if it were human. The resulting energy split the creature in half horizontally, and let the upper half fly away and explode while the lower half only followed a short distance before loosing containment and it too exploded.

The girls looked in horror at the gruesome sight, then back toward their savior.

Jonathan was standing next to a car with no windows and a smoking rifle that was half as tall as he was. They all smiled and started cheering. Jonathan blushed as the girls ran toward him. When they got close enough, they looked at him for an explanation.

"What? You guys never tried _shooting_ the damn things?"


	4. Five More Minutes

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 4: "Five More Minutes"

Mina strolled through her apartment. She had so much on her mind. The new arrival to her and her friend's lives was quite interesting. He seemed to know more than he let on. Artemis also had warned her about possibly aiding the enemy.

_No enemy would cause such a loss to his own. Besides, it was _really _cool. _She ran through the events of the previous night. After Jonathan dispatched the Hell Knight, he had collapsed from exhaustion. This worried the girls, but they all checked his vitals, and when they determined that he was stable, Darien helped to bring him back to her place. He had been asleep for 12 hours now.

It was a little after 11:00 a.m. when she heard the first stirrings of life behind the guest room door. She was so amazed at the recent turn of events. Had he not shown up, they might have not been able to survive that fight. She shuddered as she recalled how her powers only slightly damaged the creature.

Then she remembered how the street looked after that big explosion. There were bits of gray matter and ooze for half a block. The left over creature bits splattered on every car, light post, street sign, and piece of ground behind ground zero. _Wait, how did he do that?_ she suddenly thought. As if reading her mind, Artemis came out of her room and said, "That was no ordinary shot."

She jumped at the sound of his voice, "Huh? Did I just think aloud?"

He looked up at her with knowing eyes, "No, I can just read you well enough to tell. Also, I was thinking the same thing." He was scooped up in her arms and carried back to her bed. She settled on the large queen size mattress with warm sheets and set him down. She never had problems with others hearing her talk to Artemis, but today was different.

He made a mental note to talk to her about it. But first, there was the matter of the gun.  
"Well, we never _have _tried to shoot them. We only guessed that it would do nothing. Maybe next time, we will get to test that theory."

Mina nodded "Yeah. Only if he doesn't shoot. I saw something as he fired." Artemis looked at her for a moment as if to say, 'go on'.

"I know that it was dangerous," she said, "But as that bullet, or shell, was racing over us, it was glowing!" Her eyes widened at the word 'glow'. That only brought a hardy laugh from Artemis.

"What?" she looked at him indignantly.

"Mina, guns fire at super high velocities. The glow was probably from the heat generated from the friction in the air." She always hated it when he lectured her. She was sixteen now, and he was only a cat. Well, a cat that was from the future and an advisor to the Queen. But here only still a cat.

What he didn't let on, however, was that he saw the glow too. He didn't want to scare her, so he made his usual cover of lecturing. _Oh, I know how she hates it, too. _

"Should we wake him?" Mina suddenly asked.

Artemis looked off into the distance, "Well, if I were from America, and I'd have to fight a monster late at night, I would probably have jet lag and a _monster_ headache." He tried unsuccessfully to make Mina laugh, but the pun was too low, even for the 'mistress' of humor. She was worried about him, having been thrown through a glass window, then firing a huge gun, and not to mention after carrying all of her shopping bags and falling from Rei's roof. He had one long day!

"On second thought, maybe we should just let him sleep." she decided.

Mina wondered what her friends had done after the excitement last night, so she called Serena on her phone.  
"Hello? Is Serena there?" Mina asked when she didn't here the familiar voice of her bubbly friend.

"I'm sorry, Mina, but she slept over at Rei's house last night. I thought she said all of you were going to be there. Why are you at home?" Asked Mrs. Tuskino. Mina blushed, "Well, I was really tired last night and I couldn't get to sleep, so I went home." she lied.

"Oh, well she is probably still there. Take care!"

"You too." Mina replied. Well, I wonder… Her thoughts trailed off to the possibility of Serena lying to her parents again about Darien, or whether or not she was really at Rei's.

_Oh Mina, you need to stop reading so many romance books! _She knew that her Serena was a good kid, even if she was the biggest goof ball in history, and the kindest she had ever met. "I need to get dressed," she suddenly said aloud.

"Ok. Did you fill my water dish yesterday?" Artemis asked. Sometimes, the advantages of having a cat that could talk really outweighed the disadvantages.

"Yes. You drink too much." Mina said sarcastically.

"Well, as long as you don't tell Luna about my 'drinking problem', we're alright." And with that, he left her to change in peace.

She thought about going casual today. It was nearing Christmas time, and the temperature outside was dropping every day. It was almost 40 degrees today. She decided on a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeve, pink T-shirt with a blue jacket with an orange 'Sailor V' logo on the back. She was never one to brag on her own, but the merchandise was loud enough. Artemis had told her one time that it was amazing how the public couldn't put two and two together.

"I hope that you don't mind me leaving you here?" she really didn't ask the question; it came out more of a statement.

"Oh no! Someone needs to make sure that he doesn't get into trouble while you're out!" Artemis made a show of puffing out his small, white chest trying, unsuccessfully, to make himself look bigger.

Mina only looked down at him with those big blue eyes and said, "I know that I can count on you." and with a wink and a grin, she was gone.

_Well, _Artemis thought, _Looks like movie day! _He sauntered over to the living room, which was spacious even for an apartment, and jumped up on the couch. He made an event of pulling the remote over to his location, then curled up alongside it. With a paw, he punched the power button and scrolled through the onscreen menus. He had learned how to do this as a cat, because of the times when Mina was at school, and it was too cold outside to explore. He had seen almost every part of the Juuban district anyway.

When he finally found the movie he wanted, he selected it and began his long half sleep process. While in this position, he was able to appear asleep, when in fact he was wide awake and aware of his surroundings. Well, not today.

_Whoa, what happened?_ Jonathan thought to himself as he sat upright in the bed. He had slept so soundly, that the sheets were still almost made up. He overrode his urge to fling the sheets off of him, and slid out from under them. He was still mainly dressed, but his long, wavy, brown hair was mussed. _I must look like a rooster, _he thought. He walked to a door on the wall opposite the bed and opened it. There was a small bathroom which was recently stocked with a tooth brush, a towel, and tooth paste. There was a note on the mirror, in English, that read,

"Jonathan,

Thanks for the great time last night at Rei's! We all really enjoyed the time. Oh, and the Sailor Scouts showed up and told us to leave. They brought you back to my place. There is shampoo in the shower. I will be in and out all day, so make yourself at home. See ya!

Mina"

Jonathan looked at the note and smiled. She did those little things…

He quickly brought himself out of the stupor he was in, and turned on the shower. He hadn't taken one since the previous morning, but this particular shower felt surprisingly different. It felt very warm and relaxing, almost as if it were healing is body. Mina had a taste for beauty products. The shampoo that she picked out for him helped to transform the rooster into a wavy sea of brown. It smelled of a woodland scent, kind of like pine. He wondered what kind of shampoo she used to keep that long, golden mane in check.

He quickly finished with his hair and then he became aware of the aching in his back. The memories flooded his senses as he remembered the events of the previous night. He remembered how it felt to shoot that thing, and also the reaction from the girls. _Yeah, that was pretty cool. I helped out the Sailor Scouts. What a story. I wonder if anyone will believe me?_ He finished his shower and brushed his teeth with the provided utensils.

When he returned to the bedroom, he noticed a shopping bag sitting on his leather jacket on a chair. He opened the bag and gawked. There, lying in a folded pile, were clothes for… him! When they were out shopping yesterday, she must have picked up some things for him. He wasn't paying attention very well. He took the items out and looked at them. A year ago, he wouldn't have been able to fit in them. He was really thankful to his Karate teacher and his dad, both of which had put him on a strict exercise regimen to work off some excess weight.

He was only slightly aware of his new found flat stomach, broad shoulders, and slightly taller physique. He never was really good at being confident in himself. In fact, he never really thought about himself before. He only noticed now that the ensemble she picked out for him was a medium size light blue, long sleeve, T-shirt and a pair of loose khaki slacks. Normally, the shirt would have not been able to even fit around his chest, but since he toned his body, the shirt fit him all too well. He noticed that if the shirt were any tighter, it would have revealed his stomach's definition. The slacks were another number. They were not too baggy and not too tight. He looked and felt greater than he had in months!

Feeling really chipper, he left his room and strolled to the living room. He spotted Artemis watching a movie on TV. He laughed a bit to himself._ Well, he has to find _something _to keep his attention while she's gone. _Jonathan wasted no time in taking full advantage of this opportunity.

Artemis was faintly aware of the shower turning on, and then off again. He was almost, well… scratch that, he was asleep. And dreaming of a great day where he and Luna were kid free, literally. They had a wonderful date planned, with a cater and a singer… wait, that singing was coming from someone really close… And before even finishing a thought, Artemis was swept up in a powerful arm. Jonathan was singing along to a song called, "The Warrior" by an eighties band called "Scandal". This was definitely an experience that Artemis was not prepared for. He let out a scream, a human scream and flailed his little arms and legs, but to no effect. Jonathan made a conscious effort not to laugh at his wail, and turned down the radio he had suddenly blared.

"Well, that was fun! What else does she have here?" he asked, mainly to Artemis, but he quickly turned his attention to the large glass entertainment center. "Wow! There are a lot of oldies in here!" Jonathan was feeling really, really spontaneous as he cracked open a CD case. Before Artemis could loose his brunch, Jonathan popped the CD in the player and put him back on the couch. When he could finally concentrate on anything besides his stomach, his ears started to hurt. _Aw, no. He found it. That dreaded piece of crap that I thought she was rid of by now! _Artemis really hated this song. Jonathan seemed to just enjoy making him feel miserable. He started to make a show of singing along to "MMMbop". Yeah. Wow. He really was just doing that for fun. Really.

_I will never get to have a peaceful day! _Artemis screamed to himself.


	5. Seek Me Out, This Diamond in the Rough

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 5 "Seek Me Out, this Diamond in the Rough"

Far from this cheerful setting, a dark and ominous figure sat on a pillar of red hot rock in the shape of a demonic throne. There was nothing to be seen of him except his outline, and even that image brought him fear and respect throughout his realm. With a satisfied smirk, he beckoned his right hand man forward.

"Give me a status report." The low voice was almost as smooth as silk. He often would talk to himself for hours just to hear himself. He liked how it was so easy to make someone trust you just by having a really good voice.

The lesser figure stood before his master, visibly scared stiff.

"My lord, the Hell Knight has failed to return. We do not know the current status of our exit. It might be sealed." The figure had the appearance of a man, with a long purple robe and bright red hair that stood straight up, as if he had lost a fight with an electric eel. He recoiled at the coming assault.

To his surprise, he never received it.

The dark one just shifted a bit in his rocky throne before saying, "Perhaps another try is in order?" With a wave of his hand, the ground in front of his throne quaked and split like a ripe banana peal. Out from the fiery depths came a cry of shear terror, and eight creatures leapt out and lined up in front of their master. They walked on all fours, had lanky bodies, obviously built for speed, and two heads. The heads had two glowing red eyes and long tongues emerging from their mouths. Their bluish skin only enhanced their dead and gruesome appearance. The dark figure addressed them, "Go, and find out what happened to our exit." With a wave of his hand, the Maggots were off, traveling to the tunnels that would lead them to another realm.

Meanwhile, back in car-Tokyo…

Jonathan was enjoying himself immensely, knowing full well that the cat-host that was occupying the couch royally hated him by now. He was finishing the last lines of "Crazy Train" by Ozzie Osborne on an electric guitar that he found leaning against the glass entertainment center. _If this guy starts another song, I don't care if I am the King's own Father, I will tell this guy to stop! _Artemis was growing more and more annoyed by the hour. It wasn't that the guy couldn't sing or play, it was the exact opposite. It was as if he had a pretty good grasp of music and was purposely trying to make his life hell. First, it was the crackling fake-falsetto during the "Warrior", then it was the obnoxious tunes of pre-pubescence, topped off with the sounds of the "prince of darkness" himself. What was with this guy?

"Hi Guys! I hope that you haven't caused too much trouble in my absence?" The voice came from the open hallway door. Both Jonathan and Artemis turned to see the goddess of love standing in the light from the hall. She had on her light blue jacket and pink T-shirt, and slim blue jeans that showed off her very mature figure. Artemis had to suppress his delight in seeing his savior, so he jumped from his perch on the couch and ran to her, circling her legs and purring with all his might. Jonathan was too stunned with the vision to respond.

"Well," Mina said with surprise, "You never missed me that much! What happened?"

Artemis looked up at her and willed his thoughts into her head. _The horror! The HORROR! Don't you EVER do that to me AGAIN! _As usual, she didn't follow his horrified gaze.

Luckily, Jonathan broke the silence, "We were jamming. Well, sorta."

Mina looked at him with the guitar and suddenly came alive, "Oh!" she said with a far away look in her eyes, "Are you a musician?" the last words seemed to flow out of her mouth like an uncontrollable flood. Hey. What could she say? She had a soft spot for rockers.

He noticed the all too failed attempt at subtlety and visibly puffed up a bit.

"Well, I have been known to dabble a bit. I only started to play the guitar again last year."

He suddenly was consumed by the memories of his real life, back home where he had responsibilities and a future to plan. Well, he really needed help in the latter department.

Mina caught the change in his face immediately. She was tempted to rush up and hug him, and comfort this complete stranger. Well, she felt like she could trust him. Why not? She moved quickly over to his location on the couch and sat next to him. She reached up slightly and rubbed his shoulder with one hand, "Hey, are you ok? You look like something bad happened. Did I say something?" Her touch was something that he had always dreamed of, and the effect it had on him sent his mind into overdrive. He suddenly forgot all about his home, college and his responsibilities and his face brightened.

He turned to her and said, "I'm sorry! I was just thinking about things in the past. I think that I need some fresh air." This seemed to satisfy Mina for a moment, and she suggested that they take a walk. "Sure! Oh, but did the scouts bring back my stuff?" He suddenly asked. "Sure. They left a big bag here and a large gun. It was really heavy!" she feigned fatigue and they both laughed. It was good for them to break the awkward silence of new acquaintances. He ventured back into his borrowed room and found his duffel. It was placed just under the chair where his clothes had been. He reached in and found his two .45's. He stuck one under his coat at the small of his back in the top of his trousers, and the other he put in the left pocket of his leather jacket. Finally ready, the two of them ventured out into the midday foot-traffic of downtown Tokyo.

They engaged in small talk until they arrived at the location of the shootout last night. Jonathan was edging the conversation to more pertinent matters. She finally asked him what had troubled him in her apartment.

"Well, Mina, actually, it's about what happened last night. You see, I…"

He never had the chance to finish his thought. From a roped off area in the middle of the street, there came a rumbling sound the same as the previous night. The familiar red glow surrounded the pile of rubble thrown haphazardly over the site, and a cry of shear terror erupted from the depths under it.

Mina and Jonathan were on the opposite side of the street from the commotion, and it gave him time to think. Realizing that his aim would be spoiled with both hands full, he pulled the first pistol out from his jacket pocket and handed it to the startled Mina.

She just stared at it for a second, and he said, "Only seven shots until empty. Don't miss." With that, he forced the gun into her hands and pulled his other from his back. _Bring it on. _he thought. And bring it they did. The Maggots swarmed out from the hole in the ground and chased after a few startled pedestrians. Jonathan decided to take action before anyone was hurt. He drew a bead on the lead demon and squeezed the trigger. The round struck the ugly, two-headed monstrosity just in front of it's fore leg, piercing the artery that traveled there. The beast ran a few more steps before coming to a messy, gurgling stop.

He looked at Mina and said, "Well, SHOOT em!" That seemed to bring her out of the stupor she was in, and she placed the gun in her right hand and pointed at the mass of demons who changed directions and were now headed toward her. She closed her eyes and fired. The recoil was almost too much for her to take, sending the gun and her forearm sailing above her head. She caught the motion and forced her muscles to obey and bring the gun back down to level on the creatures. She looked at Jonathan a second as he fired two more times into the mass. She could faintly see a glow from the barrel of his pistol as he felled two more, both with shots between the two blue heads.

Mina turned back to her own attackers to face a horrifying sight. For starters, she actually hit one of them. This sight was not what she was prepared for. The Maggot had taken the round just above one of the heads two eyes, and the ugly, bluish liquid that was assumed to be blood was pouring from the wound. The most horrifying thing was that the monster seemed to not even take notice of the damage. It kept on coming, and it almost reached her position, until a sudden blast from the right sent it flying. Mina stared straight forward for a moment, trying to make sense of the hysteria they had just witnessed. When she collected herself enough to look around, she instinctively turned to the right and saw her savior. Jonathan still wore his leather jacket and the outfit that she bought the previous day. He had a smoking, empty pistol in his right hand and was twirling it around his index finger. He finished his show of blowing the smoke off of the barrel, looked up at her and smiled.

"Nice shot! Too bad they have two heads." He looked like he didn't feel so well.


	6. Well, Now That IS Something!

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 6 "Well, Now That IS Something"

_Wow, I don't feel so hot. _Jonathan felt suddenly very tired. He wondered why he felt tired a lot here. _Oh well, I blame it on the jet lag._ He looked at Mina, and just registered that she was pointing a loaded gun at him.

"Whoa! Sweetheart, you need to point that thing someplace else! I know what you can do with one of those." He gave her a sly grin as he closed the gap between them. When he reached her, he took the gun from her shaking hands gently and ejected the magazine. Then, he checked the chamber and caught the loaded bullet as it sailed out of the pistol. When he finally had possession of his two pistols, he lead her away toward her apartment. They didn't say a word until they got home.

In all of the commotion, a single Maggot was able to escape unscathed. He watched as his second in command was hit by the girl, and was surprised to see that his now-leader was still charging. Then, he witnessed his leader's demise by that boy! That bullet was meant for him. He was grateful, but he was even more grateful of the news that he would bring back to his lord. Yes, for this Maggot, there would be a prize waiting.

Back at the apartment, Jonathan began to asses the situation. He needed the Sailor Scouts, and they needed to know the truth. He was trying to think of who best to tell first. He couldn't yet imagine telling Serena, or even Mina. They might have a conniption fit. He finally settled on Darien. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Yeah, he would be perfect. _Now, how to find him_? He thought. When he finished thinking, he turned quickly and almost ran into Mina. She was standing there, wringing her hands, apparently uncomfortable with the situation. When she looked up at Jonathan, her eyes spoke volumes. Those two infinite, deep, blue crystals. _Wow, when did I ever start noticing that? _Jonathan wondered at his unusual attention to another female's feature. He never did see women other than for who they were, people. This one, however, seemed to take his breath away.

He finally gained enough composure to mutter, "Yes?" without his voice cracking. Mina just continued to stare, so he decided to start the conversation. "I let one get away."

She finally looked down and said, "No, that wasn't it. You just… It's just that… Well, you saved my life." She had that same look in her eyes that she had when she found him earlier playing her guitar. He seemed to take the hint. "Oh, it was my pleasure, trust me." He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze and walked past her into the living room. He dared not stay any longer in the presence of the goddess of love and beauty for much longer. He finally saw what the other guys had seen. This girl, well, let's just say that she was not one of girlish looks, but rather those of a early-twenties female, was stunning! He knew that his crush was not unfounded. He plopped down on the couch to conserve what little energy he had left after the fight, and what he lost when viewing that vision. While there, his thoughts traveled to Mina, and what she might have thought about him in return.

_Who is this mysterious, fine, and dangerous guy? _Mina wondered as Jonathan sauntered past her and into the living room. Her shoulders still tingled where he held them. No one, not even her parents made her feel the way that she felt when he was close to her. She never felt anything like this. When he saved her, and when he saved the girls, and when he was sad, and when he reassured her, all off those times she felt as if her insides were going to somehow destroy themselves from flipping around and jumping. In all of her teenage life, she never felt that weird. _I have no idea what is going on or who he is. Why do I feel like I am riding a never ending roller coaster? _ Well, maybe it was time to fix that. She gathered up her composure, turned around an walked into the living room. Jonathan was just sitting there with his eyes closed, softly singing to himself. Mina didn't know what to do! This guy was amazing. Even when he wasn't really singing, she could tell that if he ever did open his mouth, the sound would not have been unpleasant. She decided to wait until he finished the song, and stood just slightly off to the side of the couch.

Baby, I've been searchin' just like every body else.

Can't say nothing different about myself.

Sometimes I'm an angel and sometimes I'm cruel,

But when it comes to love, I'm just another fool.

Yes, I'll climb a mountain,

I'm gonna swim the sea.

There ain't no act of God girl,

Could keep you safe from me.

My arms are reaching out.

Out across this Canyon!

I'm askin you to be my true companion

True Companion.

True Companion.

When he finished the verse, Mina sat down next to him. "That was great." she said in a heavy voice.

Jonathan seemed to jump and quickly, his face was covered with a huge blush.

"Oh! I thought you went to your room. But, thank you."

"That was beautiful! What was it?"

"It was a song that my girlfriend played for me." When he looked over at Mina, he saw probably the most devastated looks he ever witnessed. He quickly added, "A long time ago." With that, she seemed to brighten.

"What?" she seemed to beg the question.

"Well, it is a long, long story, and I don't want to bore you with the details" knowing very well that he would love to just spout everything to this little angel.  
She giggled and it made him blush again. _Curse my untrained emotions! I thought that I could control them better than this! _

She gave him an indignant, yet playful, look. "Of course I want to hear about it! You can't just tell me something like that and not follow through!"

"Oh, ok. You win." So Jonathan began to relate to Mina his entire 3-and-a-half-year-long relationship, his first and only. Mina sat patiently and waited as he finally drew to a close.

"…So that's what happened, and since then, she has been really distant." He himself seemed distant at the time. Somewhere during his narration, his hand unconsciously moved to cover his neck. He still carried the necklace that she gave him during their first year together. He made a promise that he would always wear it to remind himself of his first love.

Mina broke the silence, "Well, I would have given anything to have a boy treat ME like that! It must have been so hard for both of you." She decided to end her sentence there, at the risk of gushing all over this new man in her life. She laughed at the thought as soon as it entered in her mind. She thought about how hard it must have been to tell his best friend that she could and should see other people. It was for her own good, he was just baggage that she would carry to all of her sorority socials and dances. He wanted her college experience to be free of such pain and unhappiness. THIS GUY WAS AWESOME! Mina knew that she had found a best friend, and she secretly hoped that it would grow into something, maybe, a bit more? She finally brought herself back from space when Artemis and Jonathan were looking at her like she was an alien.

Jonathan started talking and she missed the first half of his sentence, " where I can get in touch with Darien?"

"Huh? I'm sorry, what was that?" Mina blushed as she tried to compose herself.

"I said do you know how I can get in touch with Darien. I kinda need to talk to him about, well, guy stuff." he lied. _I hope she falls for it_. And indeed she did.

"Well, I know his apartment number, just incase Ser ever spends the night. Oh! I don't think that I was supposed to say that!" Jonathan chuckled as she apologized to the air.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Trust me, the way I see it, there is nothing to worry about with those two. They're meant for each other." Mina looked at him for the umpteenth time with suspicion, and this time, Jonathan offered no explanation. She decided to let it pass. The rest of the day went by quickly, especially when she knew that Darien was on his way to pick Jonathan up. When Darien finally arrived, Jonathan suggested that they first visit the Arcade. "I really want to see where you guys all hang out, and meet some more of your friends." He chose his words wisely this time, so as not to arouse too much suspicion. That would come later.

Jonathan thought that they might have been able to walk to the arcade. It wasn't so far, and when they arrived, both Jonathan and Darien were visibly on the edge of bursting. It took all of Jonathan's self control not to say a word until they reached their destination.

When they entered the Arcade, Darien's friend, Andrew, introduced himself.

"Hi! You must be a new guy in town. Funny how it seems that I always meet the new people on the second or third day they're here. Well, if you guys need anything, I'll be behind the counter!"

Jonathan finally spoke up, "Thanks! It was nice to finally meet you, Andrew."

Darien's tall frame jumped at the sound of Jonathan's voice and he closed his blue eyes in thought. Before he could speak, Jonathan stated bluntly, "Thanks for letting me talk to you, Tuxedo Mask."

Ok, so "Ture Companion" doesn't belong to me either. It belongs to Marc Cohn. Don't sue me Marc! Please!


	7. Uh, Who? How? When? What? Awww, here it

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 7 "Uh, Who? How? When? What? Awww, here it goes"

Darien just sat there, trying his best to not let his eyes bug out and to keep his jaw tightly shut.

"It's ok. Really. I am not here to start anything or to threaten you or the girls. Yes I know about the girls too. But I think that you will have the hardest time believing why."

Now that he was over the initial shock, Darien felt a calm, unlike anything he felt before, well, except maybe when he was in the arms of a certain meatball head. When he finally leaned forward, he said, "Alright, you have my attention. I don't usually have to do this every day, you know." He said with a smug grin.

Jonathan just shook his head and said, "No you don't. Now, did you honestly believe me last night when I said that I was psychic?" Darien looked at him a moment, obviously sizing up the figure sitting opposite him. This one was more like him, a fellow college student, for sure. The way that he addressed people was educated, and mature, not like the occasional slip-ups that occurred with his company. Finally, he answered, "No."

"And you would be right. There is no such thing, but don't tell Rei, it will hurt her feelings." When Jonathan collected his thoughts, he let into Darien's sound mind with full force. "Listen. I don't think that I am supposed to be here. I think that I am from another dimension. I don't have a logical explanation, but where I come from, you guys are in a cartoon called Sailor Moon. It is sort of like a children's cartoon, a type that people from my world call 'Anime'."

Darien stopped him and said, "We have anime here too, you know." And he was right. The only thing that he could think of, was the difference in the physical appearance.

"Yes, but in my world, the Japanese people all look relatively alike. There is no natural blue hair, no special powers that I know of, and definitely no Nega-verse. Although we do have something that vaguely resembles it. Now I know that this must be hard on you, but you have to believe me. I can pretty much answer all questions that you can think of, but it might take me some time to answer them. I was a middle schooler when I first started to watch your show." He finished and presented himself to the mercies of this dark haired warrior.

_Hmmm, I have to think! What would he know if we really ARE cartoon characters? Oh stop it. You don't really believe him. So ask him something that only a few people would know._ Then it hit him.

"What is Serena's Birthday."

Jonathan looked wide eyed for a moment. _HAH! Good I got him! _

To Darien's disappointment, Jonathan burst out laughing.

"That was the best you could come up with? That is got to be the easiest one yet! It's June 30th!"

If there was one thing that ever brought Darien down off of his high horse, it was that. He fell back against the seat and stared at this stranger who suddenly arrived and changed the face of his and his friend's lives. _Oh no you don't! You can't give up! That was just a lucky, incredibly lucky guess. Ask him something about the Moon Kingdom. Yeah, that'll get him. _With renewed vigor in his eyes, he posed the next question, "What happens in my future?" That ought to slow him down. Instead, Darien saw the flash of sadness flow across Jonathan's face briefly, before turning into pure concentration.

_Well, at least I got him to think about it. _

"You are supposed to marry Neo-queen Serenity, Serena's future self. There, you have Rini, your one and only daughter, and she will train to become one of the next generation of Sailor Scouts. But there are always going to be more and more battles until finally, there is nothingness. You have all died at least twice so far, and the first was the battle with Queen Beryl of the Nega-verse. That I am sure of. I know all about the trials and tribulations of the your past, and how it hurt to know that you could not remember anything after the accident. I also know, that you were in love with Serena from the first moment that she ran into you with that bad grade and you started to tease each other. It was too bad that you two didn't hook up earlier; it would have saved me a lot of anxiety."

Jonathan finally took a breath and looked up at Darien with a grin of accomplishment spread across his face. He had reason for it, too. Darien finally gave into the enormous amount of information that this one guy from another realm possessed.

"Well Jonathan, looks like we have a lot to think about." Darien finally spat out.

"Yeah. Oh, I also wanted to ask you a favor." This seemed to get Darien's attention again, and he looked at his new friend with understanding.

"Well, two things actually. First, when should we tell the girls, and second," a pause, "Could I stay at your place? I don't know if it is such a good idea to stay with that pretty thing for much longer. She was my biggest crush you know. I don't think that I could keep a secret from her for very long. Also, it might not look good for a girl her age to be seen with a guy in her apartment." Darien relaxed and decided that this guy was just a regular guy after all. Just like him.

He pondered for a moment, then suggested, "You're right about the telling. I think that we should wait. At least until my Christmas party. Oh, and I guess since you will be staying with me, you are invited to attend!"   
Was that an attempt at humor? From Darien? Well, you learn something new every day.

"Oh, and one more thing?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah?"

"I forgot my tools." Darien just laughed and they got up to retrieve Jonathan's weapons and tell Mina about the change in sleeping arrangements.


	8. One or Two Players?”

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 8 "One or Two Players?"

Down in the hot, dark, and evil depths, a lone figure sat anxiously waiting for his charge to return. It had been a day since he sent his minions to asses his exit's status, and he was growing more and more impatient as the time crawled on. When his right hand man returned with a single Maggot, his spirits livened.

"Finally! You DO realize that I am a man with, well, maybe not a man, but I still have deadlines, Beelzebub. Now, tell me, what is the news?"

Beelzebub hated being called by his given name, but his master was boss. He gave an inward sigh and let the name slide. It wasn't like he could do anything about it.

"Sir, this Maggot has some special news. I will let him speak for himself." There, he removed the attention from himself and on this lesser being.

The dark figure settled in his rocky throne and said, "Proceed."

The Maggot cleared his two throats and began his stereo narration of the previous day's events. "Aanndd tthheen, II rreettuurnneed aass ssoonn aass II ccoouulldd."

The Lord of Darkness pondered this turn of events, then regarded his charge, "You have done well, Maggot. I think that a reward is in order. You will be placed in a cocoon and given the opportunity to lead our armies against this new Avenger." With a wave of his shadowy hand, the ground split again and the Maggot was engulfed in the fiery case that he would need to mutate.

The dark one sat back and contented himself with watching the creature grow. It would take at least a week for the creature to be ready, so he let his right hand man go and occupy his mind with what ever distractions there could be found.

"Don't worry. Even though I gave him command of the armies," he gestured to the cocoon, "You will be in charge of _him_. Now, go, and watch the surface for any signs of change."

In car-Tokyo...

_I want to check out the arcade! _Jonathan screamed at himself while he was sitting in Darien's apartment. He tried to busy himself with reading or T.V. or anything that would take his mind off of the absence of his jam partner. They were planning something special for the Christmas party, which took some doing, but Jonathan finally persuaded Darien to go along with it.  
"She'll really like it, and you will be able to show off to the girls, and let them know that there is a real guy in there!" Jonathan said, smacking the back of his head for emphasis.

_It is really good that he and Mina are so much alike! Well, he actually says the jokes right! _

Jonathan mentally went over the way to the arcade, and then set off to find some entertainment. He hadn't been playing as many games as he used too, and he thought it would be a good idea to see how his skills had fared. _Besides, _he thought, _I might run into a certain someone there!_ With that thought, he began to sing softly to himself and bop down the sidewalk. When he finally walked through the arcade doors, he was met with a scene that brought him joy. It was an old fashioned arcade, the kind that had rows of standing games, racing games and other prize games that otherwise would have sapped his money. If he had any. That was a big problem right now. Luckily, a kind hearted blonde man behind the counter came to the rescue.

Andrew noticed the new guy waltz right into the room and stop dead in his tracks. He had seen that look many times before, but on certain young blonde females that frequented his arcade. He knew that one day wouldn't hurt him. Andrew approached the newcomer, and lightly tapped his shoulder.

"Hey buddy. Five games, on me!" With that, he dropped five games worth of tokens into the stunned student's hands. "Don't worry about it," he said when he presented the tokens, dismissing a muttered "I can't take those!"

"It helps to be prepared with the crowd that usually frequents this place. By the way, it is about to get really crowded in here, school's almost out. Well, have fun! I have got to go and start making hot cocoas!" Andrew bounded back to the counter with a look of accomplishment on his face. _One more Mina or Serena in here is all I need, but then again, maybe he can take the heat off me for once. Besides, He is new, and he looked like he could use some fun. _

Jonathan stared down at the tokens in his hands, and thought that it was really nice of him. He also knew that it would be rude to refuse the gift, so he began to look around for a new home for the hot little coins burning a hole in his anxious hand. Then he spotted it. The 'Sailor V' game. He always wanted to play that, and he walked forward to begin his new experience. And play he did. When he arrived, the high scores were presented and the top ten read:

1. MA

2. MA

3. ST

4. MA

5. ST

6. MA

7. ST

8. ST

9. ST

10. MA

_Looks like I have some competition! This is gonna be fun!_ He began to play, and soon he was lost in the virtual world of a tiny, pixilated Sailor V, blasting demons left and right. He was also unaware of the small crowd steadily gathering at his back. When he finally took his last hit, the crow cheered and he was slightly surprised to see that he made the high score. He grinned and entered his initials in the number one spot. When he finally got up, he heard the many comments of "Wow! He made it to the last level!" and "not even did that blonde get that far!". These comments didn't do as much to his self esteem as they would have a year ago. He was slowly weaning himself off of the drug that he affectionately dubbed "EM". He was hooked on "Electronic Media" for too long, and he decide to change that. When he heard the bells over the door jingle, he looked and couldn't keep from smiling. Mina and Serena strolled through the doors and out of the chilly, December air and walked up to the counter. Jonathan decided that it would be good time to go and start up some "friendly" competition. He collected his thoughts and walked up to the counter. He cleared his throat and tapped Mina's shoulder.  
"Excuse me miss, but I believe that Sailor V has a new high score." Mina jumped at his initial touch, then she realized what he said.  
"Hey! What! That's impossible! No one could have gotten past the level eight guardian! I know! I couldn't."

Jonathan tried, unsuccessfully, to contain his laughter and said, "You don't believe me? Go and see for your self."

She obliged him, and left to ascertain the situation. Serena jumped in and asked, more like wailed, "You really beat her score!" Jonathan was about to answer the question when they both were distracted by a scream from the other side of the room. They turned and saw a frazzled Mina staring at the game. Jonathan felt a sense of sadness wash over him. He wanted to play a game with her, not hurt her feelings. He left a sputtering Serena and moved over to Mina's side. Just as he was about to reach down and place a comforting hand on her shoulder, she whirled on him.

"This can't be. You. Me. Challenge. NOW!"

Three games later…

"And it looks like we have a tie, ladies and gentlemen. Since it is the final match, we will let the lovely lady decide the final game." Andrew could have auditioned for the job of announcer. He was currently judging the most competitive gaming experience that Jonathan ever witnessed. So far, his admiration for the goddess of love and beauty had grown into full blown wonder. They decided to count the Sailor V game as the first, and the second was a test of hand-eye-coordination. The player had to stop a glowing light on a ring in the area titled "jackpot" to win. Jonathan's slightly, very slightly better coordination won him that round. She had whooped him in two consecutive racing games, and if she was feeling competitive she would choose another racing game. Or, if she was smart. To every one's surprise, she said, "I choose, Mrs. Pac-Man."

Did he just hear her right? Jonathan OWNED that game! Really, he had a standing copy in his basement at home. He made a show of disappointment in her choice, while silently praising his luck. _I think that I might actually _win _this competition! _

They moved up to the machine, and they moved to insert their tokens at the same time.

Their hands brushed against each other for a split second, and they both blushed. Jonathan recovered and scored some brownie points by allowing her to go first.

When their credits were received, Andrew proceeded with the event. "Select, One or Two players!" He practically sang his announcement, and the two duelers said in unison, "Two."

They were stunned again, and Serena caught the blushes on both of their faces instantly, like some kind of attraction radar. She couldn't decide who to cheer for. Jonathan became a friend to her and the rest of the girls, and he was especially getting along with Darien. She also noticed how Mina was spacing out a lot lately. She decided to keep her mouth shut for once. She wished she could choose. It was the hardest thing she had to do, just to keep her mouth shut.

Jonathan watched as Mina sailed through the first two levels, then ran into a problem with the third. The red level held blinking dots that didn't last as long as the previous two, and she quickly found herself trapped between two ghosts. When her game was up, her score was around the 50,000 mark. Jonathan stepped up and soared just as easily through the first two levels. When he reached the red level, he adjusted his strategy.

He raced around the level trying to gobble up as many dots as possible without using any of the blinking ones. He finished that level, and promptly lost on the "Jr." level. When the score was tallied, his reached into the 100,000's. This brought a sigh from the defeated Mina, who held out a hand to congratulate the winner. To her surprise, he didn't take the hand. Instead, he bent slightly and raised the gentle hand to his lips. Her breath caught in her throat and she could barely manage a giggle.

"Congratulations on your win." she finally managed.

Jonathan just looked over her raised knuckles and said through a grin, "No, Thank you for such a good time."


	9. Foresight Is So Often Blind

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 9: "Foresight Is So Often Blind"

When the emotions started to boil over in Serena, she couldn't control herself for one moment longer. She exploded all over the two young people with enough force to knock them over.

"WOW! You guys are SOOOOOOOO CUTE! I mean, he beat you, and he thanked you! How sweet! I hope that you two can be good friends. But really, what have you and Darien been doing for the past couple of days? I haven't seen so much as a few minutes of him in-between his work and your attention?" She suddenly turned the conversation to more serious matters and shook an accusing finger at him to emphasize.

Jonathan blushed, both at the scolding he was receiving from the little fireball, and also from the position he and Mina ended up in. They landed on the floor tangled with their hands together and her body lying across his own. When they finally managed to untangle themselves, Jonathan returned Serena's question.

"We are having a long, ongoing discussion about very important things, stuff that you wouldn't be interested in."

Serena just looked at him as to say, 'Not another one', and she just said, "Well, as long as you don't hurt him, I guess that… well, not that I think that you would do that, but…"

Jonathan laughed and said, "Sere, don't worry too much. He could wipe the floor with me if he wanted to. Besides, I value both his and all of his friend's friendship." He gave her a wink to ease the tension she created.

Then she smelled the cocoa.

"OOOH! Hot chocolate! Mina, I am going to get one. Why don't you guys come and share one?" she said with an impish grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Jonathan was very tempted, but he said, "Hold on, I want to ask Mina something. We will be right there." Serena bounded off to indulge in liquid chocolate, and Mina finally looked up at Jonathan, the blush covering her face finally returned to a somewhat normal color.

"Yes?" she said.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings today." He almost pleaded with her eyes for a positive response.

"WHAT? That old thing?" she gestured to the 'Sailor V' game.

"Yeah. I actually think that it's pretty cool that you play, and that you are really, really good too." Mina blushed. (AN: Boy, there is a lot of blushing going on!)

"You don't have to apologize for anything. I wouldn't be beat by anybody else, well, except for Amara. But you are special." That slipped out before she could reel it back in her mouth. She hoped that he wouldn't think she was just a stupid teenager.

Jonathan caught the phrase, but he chose to not react to it. Yet. Instead, he moved to his next agenda.

"Well, that's good. Listen, are you going to come to the Christmas party at Darien's on Friday?"

She nodded and he continued, "Good. I have something in mind that I thought would be fun. You can play the guitar, right?"

"Well, I can, but not very well," Jonathan cut her off before she could finish, "That's good. It doesn't matter if you are Joe Satriani or not, just as long as you can play chords."

She responded with, "Joe who?"

Jonathan just shook his head and said, "Oh, a famous guitar player from where I come from. But that's not important. I was thinking about letting all of you guys, Serena, Ami, Rei, Lita, each perform maybe a song or two. You can play and sing right?"

She looked at him like a cow looks at an oncoming train.

"Aw, it's not that bad. We are all your friends, and besides, you will like showing off in front of them. I know you would like it." He finished his speech with a peck on the cheek, which sent jolts of electricity through both of them.

"Wow, ok!" was Mina's response. She could hardly contain her excitement. Jonathan addressed her again, "I want all of you guys to try out some stuff from my home. There is one song in particular that I think would fit for all of us. Like an ensemble, or something." Both Mina and Jonathan were growing more and more excited with each passing second. They started to spring ideas back and forth when they both reached an epiphany at the same time. They stopped gesturing, turned toward each other, smiled evilly, and sang in unison, "Oh, Serena!"

Across the arcade, Serena and Andrew were discussing the new arrival in their lives.

"He is really hitting it off with Mina," Andrew said. Serena thought about it for a moment before continuing. _It is really nice that someone has finally come along for her. I know that she and I are like sisters, and that every time she tries to find someone, it never works out. I hate it when that happens. I hate to see any of my friends sad. Well, this time, I have a feeling that everything will turn out fine. _Her internal monologue was interrupted by two voices in almost perfect harmony singing out her name.

"_Oh, Serena!"_

She jumped out of her thoughts and looked back to where the two people in question were. She almost fell off the stool she was perched on. Mina and Jonathan were looking at her with a strange glint in their eyes as if she was a wounded animal and they were two hungry predators. There was something about them that just didn't sit well with Serena's mind. One, they looked, well… they looked like they were up to something. She didn't always agree with Mina on things, and she had that look. Two, they both had the look. That meant double trouble. She tried to put on her best, "I know you're up to something" face. They just kept coming.

Mina thought about what they could do to scare her before telling her their little secret. Nah, just let her fall over from shock.

They both stopped and hovered around her stool so they created a trap between them and the counter. Andrew just kept wiping at that invisible spot, keeping his ears tuned into the conversation.

Jonathan decided to start. The first sounds that came out of his mouth made Serena jump and she almost fell off the stool again. After she calmed down, Jonathan finished.

"We have an idea about Friday that you might be interested in." He smiled and gestured to Mina. She picked up immediately and continued.

"Jonathan discovered a song in my apartment that fits you. We all are going to sing songs and stuff like that."

Serena didn't like where this was going, and she made no effort to hide that fact on her face. Jonathan saw it, and decided it was time to pull out the heavy guns.

He leaned down so he was almost an inch from her ear, and said "Darien would absolutely love to hear you sing for him. When ever he is home, you are the only thing he talks about you know. This would just give him more ammunition to use." He winked at her and reeled back in his charm. She seemed to take the bait. Her face turned all dreamy eyed and dazed.

She snapped out of her day dream, jumped up and said "I'm In!"

_One down, _Mina and Jonathan thought, _And three to go._

The three of them discussed the issues of planning such a large concert. They went so far as to suggest posting flyers on and around Darien's apartment to draw in some audience participation. Jonathan was just swimming in happiness. He couldn't believe that his dreams were coming true, and they brought with them a feeling of accomplishment and joy that he only felt once before in his entire life.

Jonathan finally went back to Darien's around 5 in the afternoon. It was starting to get dark, and the girls had finals on Friday. He said that they should go home and study, so that they could practice and have fun that night. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Serena and Mina both went straight home and studied! They both decided that the atmosphere at the party could always use some lifting, and the shock of a good grade form both of them would certainly be worth the time spent.

Jonathan walked into the spacious two-bedroom apartment, and greeted his temporary roommate.

"What are you doing home so early?" Jonathan asked. The shock of seeing his friend home before sun-down clearly evident on his face.

"I was about to ask you what you are doing home so late? You go and explore the town?" he was clearly hiding a meaning behind his small talk. Jonathan didn't fall for it.

"I actually went to the arcade and made a new high score! Mina was pissed."

They both laughed at that, and Jonathan decided it was time to let him in on the other news.

"The girls are all going to sing and perform some songs on Friday, if that is ok with you, of course." He really didn't expect any trouble, but he always thought that it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Well, in some cases. This was one of them.

"They WHAT? I don't know if that is such a good idea. I mean, I have neighbors, and they might not take too kindly to that kind of noise." He made a show of scrunching his face to show discomfort.

"Take it easy. They are going to invite people to come and see. We were all thinking about the lobby of the building." he raised his hand to stall the coming assault. "Serena and Mina said that they would take care of flyers and everything, so all we have to do, is prepare our little surprise."

When Jonathan mentioned the 'surprise', Darien folded even farther into the green couch. He never did like a lot of attention. This new friend was starting to sound very optimistic and happy, just like two very close friends. _I don't need any more excitement in my life. Wait, I could really use this to get on Serena's good side, and stay there for a long time. Aw, why the heck not._

"Ok, Jonathan. But this better be worth it. I don't know how to play an instrument."

Jonathan looked at him funny for a second before continuing. "You sing, no?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't…"

"Then you have the greatest instrument that was ever created. The voice is the blueprint for all of the instruments that the human race has ever come up with. So, you can play an instrument. All of them in fact." He finished matter-of-factly. The confidence filtered into Darien as he thought about that statement.

"Ok." he said finally. "I think that this will be, fun."

Jonathan brightened and said, "That's the spirit! Now, do you remember what you and I practiced?" he asked as he picked up the acoustic guitar that Serena bought for him on Christmas. He never had time to learn to play it. Darien was glad that it was finally seeing some use. They practiced on into the night, until around midnight, when the song sounded fit to be played for kings.

"That was so much fun. I think that you have the makings of a great teacher." Darien said.

"You are very gifted in the musical arts, my friend." Jonathan was quick to answer.

"You said that all of the girls are going to do a number." Jonathan nodded. "Well, they don't know that I'm going to sing, which is ok, but what are they going to perform?"

Jonathan went over the events of the afternoon, and said, "Well, there is a special number Serena is doing, and I can't tell you what it is yet," he paused to take a breath. "Lita has a really powerful voice, so I suggested a Maria Carey song called 'Someday'. It is a fast, verbal scolding of a lover who left a good thing for a lesser one. I think that she can pull it off nicely." He got up and put the guitar back in it's stand. "Rei has a special request from me that will take some doing, but I know that a few hours at the temple with her keyboard will fix that. It's called 'Every Moment'. These songs are all in English, but the meaning comes across in every song. Ami will be doing a slow rock song called 'As I Lay Me Down'. I'm sure that you've heard it."

Darien sat on the couch, listening intently. He thought about where this guy was from. How could someone from another dimension possess such a knowledge about his culture. He decided to ask him tomorrow. _Hey, that gives me an idea!_ Jonathan was pacing in front of Darien's entertainment center, and he was running through the list when he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Darien asked.

"I just thought about it. I don't have a song for Mina." he hit himself on the back of the head. "How could I have forgotten her! Well, I didn't but I didn't want to give it to her. I don't know what she might think."

Darien saw the look on his friend's face and recognized it instantly. They way that his facial muscles tightened, brows furrowed, his eyes staring intently on an invisible stain on the carpet. Yup, he had it. He had it bad. Darien knew because he still had it. He stood up and walked over to where his friend was lost in thought. He put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You need to do, what you need to do. And in your own time. Don't worry so much about whether or not she will like it, or accept it for that matter. You just need to go for it." _Wow, I really am turning into Andrew. _

"By the way, why don't you join me for a jog in the morning. We can discuss the songs some more, and I have a feeling that we'll run into two very special people!"

Darien grinned when he saw the look of joy start to blossom on Jonathan's face.

"You're on!"


	10. The Calm Before the Storm

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 10: "The Calm Before the Storm"

The next morning, Darien and Jonathan woke up around 7 to jog. They thought that their chances of seeing the girls would be best around 7:55 a.m., so they took their time with breakfast. When the meal was finished, Darien suggested that they take their song sheets to review all of the numbers. The previous two nights, Jonathan wrote down all of the music for the girls. He planned on giving them out today, so the girls could practice. He was fully confident in their skills.

They brought a briefcase to jog with them. This produced some strange looks from the early pedestrians, but the two of them continued jogging and carrying on their conversation, until they neared the Juuban school district. They heard the unmistakable wail of Serena two blocks before they saw her.

"I'M LATE! ALL THAT STUDYING KEPT ME UP TOO LATE! CRAAAAAPP!" The intensity of the sound increased until it came to an immediate stop. When Serena collided with Jonathan, the briefcase that he carried came open and its contents exploded in every direction. Darien couldn't hold back his loud laughing. When Serena and Jonathan didn't immediately get up, he stopped laughing and checked to see if everything was ok. Serena was stunned, but Jonathan was out cold. She knocked the wind out of him, and she ended up on top of him. He broke her fall, but later he would say that he broke more than that.

Darien helped his girlfriend up off of his friend and tried to wake Jonathan up.

"Hey! Are you okay man? She hit you pretty hard." Darien was rewarded by a moan from the incapacitated man on the ground.

"Ughhh," Jonathan managed. He was definitely feeling worse for ware. His mind was reeling and he was very confused. When he came too, he could only mumble incoherently.

"Mucus! Running out of my nose! Spilling over my face! Mucus!" He sang loud and long. Serena couldn't follow him, cause he was speaking in English, but Darien heard all that he needed to. He burst out into uncontrollable laughter and doubled over clutching his stomach.

During all of this, Serena managed to gather up all of the contents of the briefcase and help Darien collect the semi-conscious Jonathan before she continued on her way to school. Darien offered no explanation on Jonathan's rant, and she left the issue to be brought up later. Leaving with the briefcase as planned, she had detention to worry about.

Darien took Jonathan back to the apartment to let him rest before he went to work. There was sure enough excitement for this particular college student. He could already imagine the intensity the Cherry Hill temple would be receiving tonight.

Jonathan awoke on Darien's couch around 12:30 p.m. that day. It took him a while to orient himself, but when he did, he decided to head over to the temple to get ready for the practice tonight. He picked himself up off the green couch and headed out the door. On his way to the temple, he started thinking.

_I wonder how all of this stuff started happening? I mean, one minute, I am standing next to the fountain, and the next I am living my wildest dream! Wait? Is it just a dream? One that I can't wake from? Or am I really doing this? I really hope that it's not just a dream. But what about your life back home? Oh, that again. I just get so caught up in the thought that I might actually have a chance with… Come on. Stick with what you know. There is some serious weirdness going on here as usual, and I somehow have to deal with it along with the girls. OH CRAP! I remember what happens every time something bad happens here. All of them get hurt. I couldn't bear to see Mina get hurt. Not while I'm here to protect her. I promise, Mina, that whatever this new threat to you and the girls is, I will not stand for anything that could hurt you._

Having set his mind at ease, he continued on to the temple. When he reached the endlessly steep stairs, his thoughts began to focus on the coming performance.

"Where am I going to find instruments and players?" He mused. He hadn't thought that far ahead, and he almost hit himself for the oversight.

Someone beat him too it. Before Jonathan could execute his self beating, a loud yell echoed through the trees surrounding the temple, and two figures flew out toward him. He had just enough time to dive out of the way as a very short aging man and a youthful shaggy-haired one landed gracefully in front of Jonathan. He looked up into the face of Grandpa Hino and Chad, who were looking at him with an appraising gaze.

_Nice to meet you, Grandpa and Chad. Sizing me up already?_

The two of them were obviously trying to discover how he missed being royally squashed by the flying duo.

Grandpa spoke up, "Young man, I don't know who you are, but no one has ever avoided the 'flying mantis' before. What is your secret? Why have you graced my temple?"

Jonathan sighed and stood, towering over the pintsized owner, and slightly topping the rock star.

"I came to prepare for the concert at Darien Chiba's apartment on Friday. My name is Jonathan Fowler, and I am a friend of Rei's."

When Jonathan finished his introductions, he could see Chad's red face fuming at him.

_Whoa, I better crush this uprising before it begins. _He took a deep breath, and then turned to Chad.

"Hey! Nice to finally meet you! Rei seems to be very fond of you!" Immediately, Chad went from a jealous boyfriend, to a bumbling, love struck idiot.

"Oh, Really! I mean, she is something really special." When he finished, he broke into a fit of laughter and Grandpa hit him over the head with a broom that seemed to come out of nowhere. The two were quite a pair, standing at odd, completely opposite heights, but complementing each other with their personalities. The light green towel capes seemed to add just the right amount of insanity to make the whole image perfect.

Jonathan couldn't help what he said next, "I've been waiting to see this for so long! It's even funnier than I imagined!"

Jonathan received some pretty weird looks from the old man and his future grandson-in-law, so he tried to explain, "Rei has just told me so much about you too."

"Oh, well in that case, welcome to the Hiawaka Shrine. If there is anything you need, just ask me or Chad here, and we will try to help you as best as we can."

Jonathan thanked the two for their services, and then turned to Chad.

"Hey Chad, listen. Do you have any left over instruments form the old rock days? Like a drum set or something?"

Chad thought about it for a second, then said, "Yeah! I seemed to remember the band leaving a set here for me. I was about to junk it, but if you need it, I'll get it for you."

Jonathan immediately started to plan the evenings activities. "Oh, is there a large room where six of us could practice and lots of power outlets?"

"Yeah, we've got a room for a large gathering that you could use."

"Thanks man. I'll help you get the set. If you want, we could jam a little before the girls get home?"

"Sounds like a plan!" and Jonathan and Chad started to talk about music and their lives.

Later...

"One, two, three, four," CRASH! Jonathan started a song that he knew on the drums. Chad brought out his old electric guitar and started playing along to the fast intense beat that Jonathan laid out. For some odd reason, Chad new exactly what Jonathan wanted him to play. After only a few quick words of what the chords were, Chad and Jonathan started playing again. The song was so much fun, that they didn't notice Rei, Ami and Lita enter the room. The song finished with a loud crescendo, and the girls all stood with mouths and eyes agape.

"Wow Chad! I never knew you had it in you!" Rei said after she caught her breath.

Chad turned a bright red, and Jonathan, Ami, and Lita started a soft countdown, "Three, two, one," and Chad once again turned from the rocker to the baby, babbling about nothing and everything at the same time.

"That song was so cool, what was it?" asked Lita. She was eyeing the drum set hungrily. Jonathan laughed and thought, _It suits her. She gets to make music and beat the crap out of something at the same time. I guess that's why I like it, too._

He answered, "That is Serena's song for Friday. I just remembered it, and I think that it will be better for her than the original song I had her doing. By the way, where… oh yeah. Detention. So, with all this time to kill, let me see, can any of you play an instrument?" He looked around the room with a hopeful expression.

Rei piped up, "Well, I play the keyboard."

"Perfect! Who else?"

"Well," Ami said, "I've been know to handle a synthesizer or two in my younger days. Wait, that was last summer, in between studying and figh… I mean, having fun."

_Well, at least I'm not the only one who has trouble keeping a secret._

"What about you, Lita?" Jonathan asked the brunette.

"I've always wanted to play the drums. I think that they are so cool!"

Jonathan laughed, "Well, you might just get your chance. There will be some songs that I need you to fill in for me, cause I'll be playing the guitar. Okay, so. Did Serena give you all your music?"

There were affirmatives from around the room, and Chad started to leave.

"Whoa, there mister. Where do you think you're going? I thought it might be fun if you played with us. If that's okay with Rei and the other girls. Is it?" He asked to Rei.

She looked a little embarrassed, but then nodded her head. "Yeah, it would be nice."

Jonathan clapped at the news, "Great! We needed another guitar player."

The girls asked, "Who's the other one?"

Right on cue, the two blonde "twins" walked in from detention. The both carried guitar cases, and the both looked a little timid. Jonathan walked over to Mina and whispered in her ear, "Missed you this morning. You would have seen me get caught in hurricane Serena! Don't be nervous, we're all friends here." He finished his little pep-talk with another kiss on the cheek, which thankfully went unnoticed by the rest of the crowd. They were all too busy talking to Serena about her playing.

"When did this happen?" asked Lita.

"Yeah, when did you get enough coordination to walk and chew gum at the same time, let alone play a guitar?" Rei scolded.

Serena looked hurt, "Well, I still can't walk and chew gum, but I took up playing the bass when I started middle school. It gave me something to do during the long afternoons."

Jonathan caught wind of the word, "bass", and immediately whirled around to see who could fill his last position. When he saw Serena with the guitar, he silently thanked God that all of his new friends were so unique and surprising.

"Perfect! That seems to be my new catch phrase for this group. Anyways, lets get started. Do you all have your music?"

Nods from around the room greeted the impromptu teacher. "Great! I need to change one song though. Instead of Serena doing "The Warrior', I remembered a song that is more recent and powerful. I think that you guys will have a blast playing it. Chad and I did. To let you get an idea of what I want in this song, we'll play it for you. If you feel like you might have it, jump in. The chords are…"

With the cords established and the girls all ready, Jonathan signaled Chad to start. When the melodious strains of the guitar stared, Jonathan lightly played on the rim of the snare drum. After about six bars, the song picked up, and Jonathan came in full force.

After the chorus, Serena came in on the bass, filling a void that the song needed.

The bridge interrupted anyone else from coming in, and Jonathan filled in the appropriate lyrics for the space.

"Without the mask, where will you hide? Can't find yourself, lost in your mind."

When the bridge finished, Rei, and Mina joined and they all finished the song.

"That was GREAT guys! Friday, we're going to have all of Tokyo talking!"

Jonathan couldn't contain his excitement. The rest of the rehearsal went as planned and by 8 p.m., they had all of their songs performed through. Jonathan was amazed at how fast the girls learned. They decided to meet every night that week to practice and jam.

During the week, Mina would steal glances at Jonathan when he wasn't looking, and Jonathan would do the same. All the other girls saw this and did their best to try and make the two of them embarrassed.

Jonathan bought a journal Monday night after their fist meeting. He started to write in it every night since. He felt around in his jacket pocket until he found his cell phone. It still didn't work. He turned it of again and laid it beside his bed and picked up his journal.

_This is so much fun! I really hope that this all works out and tomorrow, I get to tell them who I am. We've been so busy lately, and the songs sound great. Tomorrow is the big day! I let the girls stop early, cause they looked like they were tired. I hope Ser and Mina don't study too hard. They need sleep too. _

Jonathan closed the journal he was writing in and laid back, falling asleep with Mina's face guiding him to the dream world.


	11. Memories

Disclamer: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 11: "Memories"

Friday arrived bright and early, with a sunshine that was matched by two blonde teenage girl's smiles. Mina and Serena had done so much to prepare for what they, and all of their friends, saw as one of the most exciting things to happen in a long time.

The party at Darien's.

While they skipped to school, on time, they both thought about the recent nights and practices at Rei's. The nights held special memories for both of them, one romantic, the other, social.

Serena was thrilled that the girls finally knew about her secret hobby. She never felt that telling them was important, so she continued to play the bass guitar when Luna and the girls weren't around. Her skill astounded the other senshi, who were unused to seeing such, for lack of a better word, "cool" behavior coming from their klutz. Serena clearly enjoyed what she did, and her playing proved that there was a lot more to the princess than what met the eye.

She giggled to her self, "Darien's gonna flip when he finds out!" With that, she laughed all the way to Haruna-sensei's class.

Mina was trying to concentrate on anything other than her best friend.

_Oh I don't care that we haven't said anything about dating yet, he's still my best friend and wonderful!_ She let her insides gush all over and mentally trip, only to be caught by strong arms. She could almost see those deep brown eyes and hair that fell around his face.

The past week had been an amazing experience. She had two kisses on the cheek and countless looks from her crush. Just being with him made her feel complete. Mina thought about how she found for the first time, walking straight into Serena. Her first thought was, _Great! How come Serena gets all the cute ones?_ Then she hit herself. Serena was taken, and clearly enjoying it. _Maybe I could salvage this?_ With that, she let out a impish giggle.

That's when she got a good look at the young American. She felt her heart leap just from looking into his eyes, and when he took her hand, she felt at a complete loss for words. It was pure luck that he spoke first. Since then, she could hardly contain herself. She knew that there was something different about this guy, not at all like Ace.

She didn't want to go there. He hurt her before, and there were just too many painful memories to bring to this happy day.

Instead, Mina shook herself physically, and continued to walk to her first class.

Her thoughts drifted to Jay again, as Chad and Darien called him a few times. She really liked Jonathan. It sounded like it meant something. Something important.

_I'm rambling again, _she thought. Well, she couldn't forget the first night of practice. He was sitting at the drum set, playing along with Chad and Serena and when he sang those lyrics, she just melted. The song that he played had so much power in it, lyrics and instruments alike. She understood why he thought the song was more suited to the situation at hand.

She couldn't help but think that there was hidden meaning behind all of the words and songs that he used. They all were powerful songs. Serena's and Rei's particularly. Well, her song was just really, really fun. She remembered when she first looked at the music sheet, handwritten by Jonathan. The song fit her so well.

_I hope that it comes true! _She giggled and walked the rest of the way to her first class with one of the biggest smiles she ever produced on her face.

Jonathan was running through the final preparations for the night's performance, when he suddenly felt very, very nostalgic.

_I need to sit for a second._ He went to the grand piano that was in the lobby of Darien's apartment, and sat on the bench. He stared at the keys as he remembered the previous week's events.

The night that stood out the most was when he first heard Mina play and sing the song he prepared for her. It practically screamed her name! He couldn't wait to hear how the audience liked Mina Aino! Her playing, and the skills of all the other girls as well, simply blew his mind! Ami was even loosening up, occasionally playing extra notes and rhythms on her synth-pad during a heavy song. That brought some nice looks from the gathered friends, and thus began another round of good natured banter.

He never noticed when Darien and Chad approached him with another round of logistical questions.

"Hey man, like are you ok?" Chad asked. Jonathan had to stifle a chuckle as he silently counted, "twenty-three".

"Guys, I think that all we need to do now, is start cleaning my apartment."

Both the other guys in the room just looked at Darien with some of the most astounded looks. "HOW!" They both yelled in unison.

"Yeah, Like it was already spotless, dude."

"I agree! Even I couldn't make a dent in your immaculate living quarters. Oh, and twenty-four."

Chad looked at Jonathan with a puzzled expression. "What are you counting, Jay?"

Darien brought himself back into the picture when he couldn't hold in his laughter any longer.

"He's counting the number of times that you've said "like" in the past minute."

"Hey! Like that's not cool, man."

"Twenty-five." they both said as one. With that, Chad stormed off to the elevators as the two others fought to control their laughter.

A block from Darien's apartment building and several thousand feet under ground, a massive group of monsters were beginning to dig through the crust of the earth. Their destination, the surface. Their mission, establish a beachhead for the assault on the surface world. They still had a day and a half's work ahead of them, and Beelzebub was not happy about the lack of progress.

"What is the problem up there?" He asked to no one in particular.

To his dismay, an undead ghoul answered, " The former calculations to put us on the surface seemed to have been performed incorrectly. Instead, the portal deposited our main advance force here, several thousand feet beneath our current target."

Beelzebub groaned and silenced the ghoul with a flash of his hidden blade. The gray liquid that issued from the now severed neck of the ghoul splattered on the maggots that were digging the tunnel to the surface. He really hated the fact that some of the ghouls were long dead scientists, supposed to carry vast knowledge. He just saw them as a major head ache.

"Soon. So soon." he seethed as he waited for the maggots to finish their work.

Behind him, a massive hide of pure muscle shared his feelings of impatience as it uttered low growls and heavy breathing. It was so fearsome in appearance, that the maggots near it scurried to the front of the tunnel, as if to try and dig to get away from the menace.


	12. Life Of the Party

**Disclamer**: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack! Also, as a note, I do NOT own any of the songs in this fic! They belong to Evanescence, Seether, AfroMan and Joy Williams. I don't know who wrote "Life of the Party", but it sure wasn't me! On with it man!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 12: "Life of the Party"

"I was gonna clean my room, until I got high!"

"I was gonna get up and find the broom, but then I got high!"

"My room is still messed up, and I know why!"

"Why man! Yeah heah!"

"Cause I got high, cause I got high, cause I got high!"

Darien, Chad, and Jonathan finished the rousing rendition of AfroMan's classic when the girls arrived. They looked around at Darien's apartment, which once was completely spotless, that now carried all sorts of goodies, confetti and fake snow. They all gasped at the extensive work that was put into creating such an inviting party atmosphere.

"Darien! I never knew you had it in you!" Was all that Serena managed to say.

He looked hurt, but only until Jonathan ribbed him.

"Well, it was fun to break out for once." When the friends settled down, they moved to the lobby. A semi-formal stage was set up and the drum set, amps, grand piano, and sound board were already there. The mics were hot, and all it needed now, were the players.

Jonathan and the crew broke out their smaller stuff as the people started to show up. At first, only a few people were there; Molly, Melvin, Andrew and Rita being the most visible. Soon, however, from the street came more people, and more, until finally the lobby was packed. The girls were ready, and Jonathan walked up to the lead mic.

"Konbonwa, Tokyo! Ogenki desu ka? (now back to English) Merry Christmas, and thanks for coming out and having a great time with us tonight! We will be performing a lot of different songs for you tonight, and I hope that you enjoy them all!" With that finally settled, Jonathan went back to the set to count off the first song, Lita's.

Her song caused a stir of applause from the audience, and she bowed graciously. Ami was to go next, and she let the audience have it. Her voice wasn't as strong as Lita's, but the song they chose suited her and she was rewarded with just as much applause as Lita.

"Now for the new stuff!" Jonathan couldn't contain his excitement as he counted off Mina's number. It was a slightly slower jazz number, with a whole lot of feeling. It started off with Rei on the keyboard providing brass and Ami strings. Jonathan played lightly on the high hat.

"Who needs money? Not me.

Who needs fortune or fame,

I don't need a new career, a sympathetic ear, a name.

All I need is time to play, only want the game.

Point me to the mic, I know what I like.

Don't ya wanna be, the life of the party,

Don't ya wanna be the crème of the crop.

Don't ya wanna feel those shivering fits till some one calls it quits, or some one calls a cop!

Don't ya wanna land the role of a life time,

Well ya better get down on one knee,

Cause you can play the life of the party, if you can pray with me.

Who needs lovers, not I.

Who needs heaven above?

Don't have time for things unsaid,

For baking bread

For love.

All I need is room to fight, hand in fisted glove

Point me to the sky

It's my turn to fly!

Don't ya wanna be, the life of the party,

Don't ya wanna be, the top of the heap,

This is where the jamboree never ends why not for counting friends instead of counting sheep?

If you wanna join the heavenly choir, well hurry up and get yourself in line,

But don't you pass the life of the party, until you pass the wine.

Let the drinks pore,

Let the crowds roar.

Let the heavens unleash it.

Till the sunrise,

Brings the good byes.

I'll be here, never fear!

Who's it gonna be the life of the party?

Who's it gonna be now, the king of the hill?

Don't ya wanna be there runnin the show until its time to go, until it's time to deal.

Don't ya wanna be somebody to envy,

Don't ya wanna be foot loose and free,

Well you could be the life of the party,

If you were more me! Yeah!"

When Mina finished, the crowed exploded in applause. She was clearly enjoying herself and Jonathan took time to admire her some more.

_She isn't egocentric. She accepts the applause so humbly. I wonder how I would react to that kind of attention?_

He turned his thoughts to the next song. It was called Every moment, and it expressed a holiday feeling.

The sounds of the grand piano echoed through the lobby as she started the song.

"We laughed out until we cried and the tears were sweet.

Midnight melted to morning,

A moment, faded to memory

All these days, just slip away through our fingers so,

Don't let go, hold onto every moment,

Always know, hold onto every moment that you can.

Move on, with no regrets to our destiny.

And the hands of the Father, we share his love and he leads us through,

All these days.

Cause they slip away through our fingers so,

Don't let go, hold onto every moment,

Always know, hold onto every moment that you can.

Running through yesterday, and till tomorrow.

Don't let it just drift away.

Forget about tying the hands of time, and give every minute to the one who's given today!

Don't let go, hold onto every moment,

Always know, hold onto every moment that you can.

More thunderous applause from the audience and the crowd was growing! The people outside doing some last minute shopping stopped to hear what was going on in the building. Then it was Serena's turn. When she stepped forward to the mic, Darien almost fell flat on his face. His precious rabbit was about to sing and play the bass at the same time! Well this ought to be really good!

She move to say a few words before she let Jonathan start the song.

"I just realized who this song is for, and I wanted to make a public dedication of this song to Sailor Moon and her friends. They often don't get as much credit as they should." And with that, she nodded to Chad and Mina, who started the melodious fast rhythms. When Jonathan added his sound, and the rest of the band came in, the crowd went nuts! Serena just closed her eyes and started signing.

"Perfect by nature,

Icons of self indulgence.

Just what we all need,

More lies about a world that

Never was and never will be,

Have you no shame, don't you see me,

You know you've got every body fooled.

Look here she comes now,  
Bow down and stare in wonder  
Oh, how we love you  
No flaws when you're pretending.  
But now I know she,

Never was and never will be,  
You don't know how you betrayed me.  
And somehow you've got everybody fooled.

Without the mask,  
Where will you hide?  
Can't find yourself,  
Lost in your mind!

I know the truth now  
I know who you are,  
And I don't love you anymore and

Never was and never will be,  
You don't know how you betrayed me.  
And somehow you've got everybody fooled.

Never was and never will be,  
You're not real and you can't save me.  
Somehow now you're everybody's fool."

When that last song finished, the crowd's applause rose to the most deafening height of the night. When the members of the band took their bows and said thank you, Darien made his was up to the stage. Jonathan remained on stage, and preparing Darien's acoustic guitar and the girls all stopped.

He just smiled and said, "Oh, Darien's got a number. It's just the two of us for now though. Later, we can add all of you, but we wanted to surprise you."

Darien finally reached the stage and gulped, sending Serena a "you better not laugh" look. When they were ready, Jonathan started to play softly. Darien stood in front of the mic, and started to sing,

"I wanted you to know,

That I love the way you laugh.

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain, away.

I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well.

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain.

Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome.

And I don't feel right, when your gone away.

You've gone away,

You don't feel me here, anymore.

Jonathan started to sing the second verse:

The worst is over now, and we can breath again.

I wanna hold you high and steal my pain, away.

There so much left to learn,

And no one left to find.

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain.

They both finished with harmony that rivaled many famous duets:

Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome.

And I don't feel right, when your gone away.

Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome.

And I don't feel right, when your gone away.

Cause I'm broken, when I'm open.

And I don't feel right, I'm not strong enough.

Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome.

And I don't feel right, when your gone away.

Cause I'm broken, when I'm lonesome.

And I don't feel right, when your gone away.

You've gone away, you don't feel me here, anymore."

Not much was available from the crowd but more thunderous applause, but the girls and Chad all went hysterical and ran to hug their respectable crushes, all except Ami and Lita, who both had tears in their eyes and were wondering how this guy could effect so much change to their lives in so little time.


	13. The Truth Will Set You Free

**Disclamer**: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 13: "The Truth Will Set You Free"

The excitement of the concert dissipated enough, so soon, all of the members of the audience were gone. The only people left in the lobby were the band members, Andrew and Rita. They all agreed that it was time for the rest of the party to start. Especially when Serena remembered the goodies and food!

"Let's go you guys! All that singing made me hungry!" And off she went, straight to the elevators like a shot, leaving the rest of the group to stare at Darien and hope that the place was still in one piece when they got there.

Jonathan felt more nervous about this part than the rest of the week put together. He was finally going to be able to share his secret with his new best friends.

_Wait! Andrew, Rita and Chad don't know! How is this gong to work?_

Luckily for him, Mina seemed to sense that Jonathan was troubled. When they moved to the elevators, Mina stayed right by his side and just barely brushed against him in the close confines of the elevator. She didn't expect his reaction to be so immediate. When their arms brushed, Jonathan reached down grabbed a hold of her hand very possessively, but not too tight. She just smiled on the inside and her heart raced.

When she finally built up enough courage to look at him, she saw what was to her a very scared look on Jonathan's face. She pulled gently on his hand to get his attention. When he noticed, his face turned a light pink and he looked down at her, "Yes?" he said.

Mina pulled a little more and caused him to bend slightly to bring his face right next to hers.

"You looked like something was bothering you. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you want to talk."

When she finished, it was her turn. She brought her other hand up to brush his cheek, then placed a tender kiss on his other one.

Jonathan could almost feel his insides turn to butter. He definitely was not prepared for such tenderness and compassion from someone who didn't even know what was wrong.

_Chalk it up to being the goddess of love and beauty._

When the elevator stopped and the group arrived at Darien's floor, they noticed a sad Serena standing at the door to her boyfriend's apartment. She heard the doors open, and turned a tear-streaked face to her friends.

"I left my key at home." Was all she said before bursting into tears again.

That brought a hardy chuckle from her future husband, who moved to her side and encircled her in a giant embrace.

"It's ok, sweetheart. I left the ice cream in the freezer and all the goodies will be there when I open the door. You won't miss your food."

Serena looked at him and gushed, "You are SO perfect!" and placed the first Christmas kiss on her boyfriend.

After the dramatic show and mixed responses from the audience, some whistles and cat-calls, other deep sighs and light laughter, Darien invited his friends in for the party.

The stereo was on, playing soft Christmas music, guest were either in the kitchen or in the living room, chatting away and enjoying the festive spirit. Jonathan was seated on Darien's green couch with Mina next to him. During the entire first half of the party, he seemed to have a lot on his mind. Mina decided to find out what was troubling him.

"Jonathan, are you ok? I think that you are hiding something."

Jonathan looked at Mina and saw that she would only take one answer. He decided that it was time.

"Mina, I think you and I need to talk. Privately. How about the balcony?"

"Okay."

The two moved out onto the balcony of Darien's apartment. The sky was clear, and the moon looked like it was two times bigger than Jonathan remembered.

_Stay focused. After you tell her what needs to be said, then you can enjoy the night._

"Mina, there are a lot of things that I wish that I could say to you right now."

He seemed to be struggling with the words to say.

"I never thought I would actually have a chance to talk to you, period, much less be in a situation that some would say borders on a romantic relationship."

Mina heard that, and went red from head to toe. She could not guess what he was about to say.

"When I saw you for the first time, with my own eyes, You took my breath away. And then, when you and the guys needed help with that monster, I couldn't help but feel like something very special was at stake." He turned form the railing and looked at her.

"Yeah. I don't know what we could have done if you hadn't done anything."

Then the realization of what she said sunk in. "Ah, HAHAHAHAHA what are you talking about? Hahaha, I mean, what monster?" She was beet red again, and this time, she couldn't look at him.

"Mina, It's ok. I know all about you guys, Serena being the Moon Princess and you being Sailor Venus." She still refused to acknowledge that he was still there.

"Here, I'll prove it to you. I know when YOUR birthday is, even though you never told me."

That got her attention. She looked up at him, still red faced, and challenged him.

"Yeah, well when is it, mister smarty?"

"Mister smarty? HAHAHA, if you saw my grades, you would be singing a different tune. Anyway, it's October 22." he said. Mina looked like she was about to say something, but Jonathan beat her to it.

"And you hate shitake mushrooms."

That was enough to close her mouth. She just looked at him with wide, beautiful blue eyes, and gawked.

"I know. You will not believe how I know, though. But now that you know that I know, why don't I let you know who else knows that I know?" he said with a higher tone.

His ploy to turn the conversation to a lighter setting worked. Mina just started laughing and couldn't keep from smiling.

_Oh, God. That smile could warm the depths of space. Then why don't you let her know? Okay, _he told himself._ I've got nothing to lose._

_"_You've got a smile that could warm the depths of space." She stopped laughing and looked at Jonathan. He was standing only three feet apart from her, and yet it seemed like it was too far. She wanted so desperately to be closer to him; to have his arms around her. Then she noticed that look on his face again. It was closed off, like something of real importance to him was slowly being taken from him.

"Jonathan, what's wrong? You don't look like that's all that you wanted to say."

"Your right, Mina. It's not. I… I'm not from around here."

She laughed and said, "well of course not! You're from America!"

Jonathan turned back to the railing and leaned against it. "I know. But it's not that simple. I am from another dimension. At least, I think that's what it is." He saw the clouded look start to spread on Mina's face and decided to start at the beginning. He told her everything, from the time he was in middle school, watching the show and finding comfort in it and it's portrayal of friendship. There were times when Mina would smile, and other times, when he talked about his hard times, that she would almost cry. There was so much trapped inside him, that she felt she needed to help him.

When he told her about how he was standing next to his fountain, and then suddenly he was in Tokyo, she couldn't stand it any longer. She moved closer to him and snaked her arms around his frame. He stopped his narration, and looked down at his comforter. She had her arms around his waist under his jacket, and her face was nestled on his chest. He felt like he would never find a more comfortable hug in all of his life.

His arms found their way around her slim shoulders and he laid his head on hers.

_She is so wonderful. She smells like sunshine! I know that the sunlight doesn't smell, but it does. I don't really care. I feel too happy._

Mina was feeling similar emotions. _He smells like a pure forest! Wow! I never want to leave. This is too great!_

"Mina," He suddenly said, her hair muffling his voice. Neither of them minded, Jonathan enjoying the silky softness of her golden locks, and Mina enjoying the presence of his warmth.

She looked up at him with stunning blue eyes and said, "Yes?"

He couldn't take it any more. "I don't know what this new threat to you and the girls is, but I will not let anything happen to you, or them. I promise."

She couldn't contain herself. She wanted to kiss him. Not just on the cheek, not just on the lips. She wanted to KISS him. A real, passionate kiss. Not the fake ones in the movies, but the kind that Serena and Darien shared. She was a little bit jealous of her "twin" when she would share her experiences with them. Now, it was her turn. She moved up to Jonathan and she was almost there, when he gave a slight chuckle.

She opened her eyes, and saw him looking at her with an amused, yet loving expression on his face. "What?" was all that she could say.

"You missed last time."

"Oh, you! I'll teach YOU who knows the meaning of 'accurate'!" and with that, she flung her hands behind his neck and planted a breathtaking one, right on his lips.

Both of them lost track of where they were, what time it was, and even the temperature seemed to raise by about 50 degrees.

Jonathan was lost in his own mind and all of the past fantasies could never have prepared him for this.

They finally broke apart when the need to breathe became paramount. They didn't let each other go, however, and held onto each other until they heard something.

They looked back to the apartment and both did a double take. All of the guests were on their feet, clapping an whistling like there was no tomorrow! They all had looks of admiration and Darien moved to the fore front.

"Well, if you two are finished, we saved you guys some cocoa."

And until bed time, the two of them were inseparable that night.


	14. The Morning After

**Disclamer**: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

Ok, some clarification is needed for this chapter. Mawashi geri is a roundhouse kick, mae geri is a front snap kick, hiza geri is a knee kick, and Kunite No Tachi is a fighting stance. A Chudon Zuki Seiken is a punch to the middle section, and Mokso is a meditative sitting position. Cool? Cool.

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 14: "The Morning After"

Andrew, Rita and Chad all left around midnight. The night passed too quickly for Jonathan. His new found love was the most important thought in his head that night. When he finally calmed down after their kiss, around one o'clock in the morning, he fell asleep on the floor of Darien's living room.

He gave up his spare room for the girls to use. It was assumed that they could sort out who would get to sleep in the bed. All of them brought their sleeping bags, but Mina and Serena made it rather clear that they were the ones who should get the bed.

Seeing as how she had a rough night as it was, Lita got up as quietly as she could and moved out to enjoy the sunrise. Someone beat her too it. She looked out at the balcony and saw Jonathan sitting Mokso-style on the ground. He was only wearing a pair of gym shorts, giving her a full view of his well-toned back. She noticed that Mina's new guy had a hard body.

"He's taken! Well, I guess I'll go see what he's doing out there." With that, she moved to open the door.

When Jonathan heard the door open, he jumped up and faced her in Kumite No Tachi. She immediately reacted and squared herself in the same fighting stance.

When Jonathan noticed it was Lita, he relaxed.

"Jeez Lita, don't sneak up on me like that!" He said, releasing his pent up fighting spirit.

"Sorry! I just wanted to know what you were doing out here. Aren't you cold?"

"Nah. I was just enjoying the sunrise."

"Well, you must have been cold without anything on!" She then clasped her hands over her mouth and said, "OOPS!"

"HAHAHA it's ok. Hey, you're a black belt aren't you?"

She looked him over, and then snapped back to reality. "Yes, but why?"

Jonathan said, "Well, I am an orange belt, and I thought we might spar for a morning workout?"

She thought for a second, then nodded her assent. As soon as she nodded, Jay sent a high mawashi geri in her direction. It almost connected, but she got her hand up in time to block the roundhouse kick to her head.

_Well, I didn't think that I would connect on my first try. She is a Scout after all._

"Nice block, Jupe! Now try this!" He sent a chudon zuki seiken toward her, which she easily blocked. Then his words caught her unaware. He used this to his advantage. He sent a mae geri toward her, and this one connected just above her belt line, sending her back toward the railing of Darien's apartment balcony.

Jonathan saw this, and ran to catch her fall. When he got within two feet of Lita, she smiled and brought her right knee up. Jay saw it, and brought his arm down to block the hiza geri. When she had his attention, she sent a high inside kick to his face. Jonathan countered by getting more space between him and Lita. He then sent a well placed back kick that connected with… air.

D_amn! She's fast! _ His thoughts ended when she connected with a high mawashi geri to his head.

Lita stopped when she noticed that she knocked Jonathan out. She caught him before his limp body could do any unconscious damage to itself. When she had him, she opened the door to a group of astounded individuals. They all gathered to see what the commotion was about. They all were amazed about the mock battle that was taking place just feet from their position. Mina was the first to say anything.

"Did you hurt him, or just rough him up a bit?"

Lita laughed, "Why don't you tell me? He won't open his eyes."

Mina looked like a kid who's dog just got run over.

"No! You hurt him! I knew it!"

Darien moved to the window to help Lita carry Jay to the couch. He felt around and found the strong pulse of his friend. He smiled and looked up. "No Mina. He's fine. I think that he just needs a little more sleep. Besides, I think I know what will wake him up." He smiled devilishly and stood, placing a hand on his head.

"Oh, Jonathan! Mina said to tell you that she went off to a photo shoot." The girls all just stood looking at Darien like he lost his mind.

Lita and Rei spoke at the same time. "Dummy! She's a model! She always has…"

"At the Playboy mansion!"

Jonathan sat up straight and started yelling full force, "Just where did she go! When did she leave, and which flight did she take! I'll nuke the building! No one will ever disgrace MY Mina!" Then he looked around. His face was consumed with the deepest blush he ever achieved. All of the girls couldn't control themselves and they ended up clutching their stomachs in happy pain. All but Mina. She fell down into Jonathan's arms and cried out, "Good boy! I thought that Lita had knocked you senseless. You should have known better than to mess with Jupiter."

When Mina finished, the rest of the girls looked like they were about to kill Mina.

Luckily, Ami spoke up, "Uh, Mina? Who's that?" Ami tried to put on the most innocent face she could manage.

"Oh! It's okay. He knows!"

The girls didn't buy it. The just said, "Knows what?"

Darien decided to step in and take control of the situation.

"He knows. It's okay. I think that we should discuss this over breakfast."

Darien moved into the kitchen with Lita to prepare the food, and the rest of the girls stood or sat around in silence until the two cooks finished their preparations.

During the cooking, Artemis and Luna moved to sit right in front of Jonathan, none of them talking, just staring at each other.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Artemis finally spoke up and shook with anger, "Don't you ever put me through any thing like last weekend! I wanted to scream at you for the whole week! AGHHHHH!" When he finished his rant, he was huffing and puffing, his little white chest raising with comedic rhythm.

Luna looked at him and just rolled her eyes. "I am sorry. You must have done something really annoying to work him up like that, though. You will have to tell me your secret!" She said with a smile.

Artemis just huffed and walked to the kitchen. Jonathan laughed and shook his head, calling, "Sorry Arty!" at his retreating form. With that one moment, the tension broke and Jonathan had to explain to Serena, Mina, Ami and Rei about his adventures at Mina's house. They could hardly believe that he drove Arty to such extremes.

"Learn something new every day," said Ami. The girls all had to contain their laughter at their friends sudden levity. Ami seemed to grow more accustomed to sharing her "fun" side, as Serena called it.

"It's okay to let it out, you know. We all know that you're just like us. Well, you're smarter than anyone I know, but you still have all of your human genes, and we know there has to be some part of you that is just dying to get out!"

Boy, was that ever the understatement of the century! Ami seemed to have so much she wanted to share with the girls, but felt that her reputation wouldn't allow it.

While the group at breakfast, Jonathan related his life story with his new best friends. They all talked about his home, and how it was so much like this one. He mentioned that he didn't know how to get back.

"I'm not really sure that I want to go, anyway." He sent a meaningful look Mina's way as he said that.

"Well, won't your parent's be worried?" Serena was always concerned about people's happiness.

"I don't know. I tried to call them on my cell phone, but it wasn't working."

Ami's ears perked up at the mention of cell phone. "Maybe you could let me take a look at it?" She had a sparkle in her eye that suggested she would love to try out the technology from his dimension.

"Sure, but I think that we have more important matters to discuss right now. Like who this new threat is." He turned the conversation to more pertinent matters.

"I know! Luna, none of my attacks seemed to cause a grate deal of damage to the monster, and I know that he almost broke something when he hit me." Lita said, wincing at the memory of her encounter with the Hell Knight.

While the group and their guardians were discussing potential ideas about how to deal with the new threat, Jonathan went to his room and returned with a large duffle. Luckily for Darien, the table was devoid of the meal's table ware. Jonathan slung the duffle on the table which caused the girls to jump and move back. Jonathan gave a short, almost evil mad scientist laugh as he unzipped his bag. When he found his pistols, he brought them out and began a short lecture, all the while twirling the guns around his fingers.

"Guys, every time I have met a Jonathan, there is always something that sets us apart from the rest of the human population. Some call them quirks. I call them traits. We each have something that is different." He had a joyous look in his eyes as he rammed a magazine home in one of the pistols.

"I think that I am just a guy that can't stand to be bullied. I think that the solution to your problem, is" he brought the gun to his mouth, and cocked the slide with his teeth, "more FIRE POWER!" He finished his monologue and smiled at the girls all assembled. They had mixed emotions. Rei looked like she was ready to go at any moment, a sadistic smile covering her face.

Lita just smirked and said, "Of course, why hadn't we thought of that sooner?" She stood and started stretching, preparing herself for the fight to come.

"By the way, has anyone told you that your teeth look like a vampire's?" Lita ventured.

"Actually, I have thought that before, but I never gave it too much time. I think that it's kind cool anyway." Jonathan had always had very sharp teeth. Many of his friends would comment on how only the two front top teeth looked flat.

Ami brought out her computer and started calculating whether or not a .45 caliber bullet would be enough to injure a beast of the same size and mass as the last one. That's when Jonathan brought out his other toy. He picked up the shotgun and started loading it. Before she could say anything, her computer started to wail in alarm.

"What is it Ami?" Luna asked.

"The proximity alert! I had one installed in each of our houses as a security measure incase any of us were discovered. It says that there is a large force of negative energy 200 yards down the road and 1000 feet below the ground!"

The group gasped in shock and surprise as they readied themselves for combat. Mina managed to shake herself out of the stupor she was in, and approached Jonathan.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself, kid!"

"Don't call me kid, buddy, or you won't get another kiss!" She stood her ground and pushed all of the right buttons.

"Okay, okay, you win. Are you nervous?" He laid his guns down on the table and turned to face her. She had her hands behind her back.

"Well, I know that it's short notice, but since it is Christmas time, I got you a little something."

Jonathan looked at her stunned for a second before he managed a, "You what! You really didn't have to."

She shushed him with a finger on his lips. "I know silly, but that's part of what Christmas is about. Sharing love and gifts! Here!" She brought her hands back in front of her, and the present she was holding was nothing short of amazing. She got him a double shoulder holster for his two pistols.

"Mina! You shouldn't have!" he said with a blush.

"Of course I should! Besides, I don't plan on having those new clothes I bought you getting dirty from gunpowder. Anyway, I thought that it looked uncomfortable having to stick one of those in your pants."

Jonathan didn't know what to say, so he just hugged his new girlfriend and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you! You are so thoughtful!"

"Comes with the territory!"

Jonathan stepped back and tried out his new toys. They fit perfectly.


	15. Battle Stations!

**Disclamer**: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 15: "Battle Stations!"

The group was gathered in Darien's living room in a semicircle. Jonathan had borrowed some camouflage fatigues from Darien, and he wore his new holsters with pride. The girls were a little uneasy about him carrying loaded weapons around, but Mina worked to instill in her friends as much trust as she had in him. They were about to discuss the strategy when Jonathan started into his role as Senior Drill Sergeant.

"All right people, listen up! I don't know what we're up against, but I do know that there is an awful big risk to this operation. Some of you might not make it out. I want all of you to know, that I intend to bring everyone back. I made a promise to myself that I would do everything in my power to ensure the safety of Mina and the rest of you.

Now, I know that I am not the leader of this operation, Serena will take operation command once we are in combat, but I thought that since these creatures are from another dimension, I might have more information on the subject.

Jonathan surveyed the occupants of the room. All of the girls except Rini were there, Rini having been sent to the Tuskino's house after the concert. He saw determination on everyone of their faces.

_God. These guys have been through hell and back before. This is my first time, but I feel like I can do this. I don't know why, but it just seems like the right thing to do. _

He snapped out of his reverie, and continued with his operation analysis.

"I have thought about the situation, and have come up with an idea on how to effectively conduct this operation."

The girls were trying not to laugh at his use of military terms, and Darien was having a hard time glaring at Serena to keep her from losing it.

Jonathan continued. "Mercury and I can position ourselves on the balcony and provide cover for the rest of you while she gathers enough Intel on the bastards to annihilate them. My AT rifle can easily take down the bigger ones. We can only assume that there are more of them. Once we have the Intel, we'll meet up with you and try and finish this. Any questions?" He looked at the group one last time. No one had any.

"Alright then. Prepare for battle."

The group stood and saluted in unison, which brought a surprised look to Jonathan's face.

"Yes sir!"

Jonathan couldn't help it and automatically saluted back. Mina then approached him as the rest of the girls and Darien started to transform and stretch. They usually didn't have such a nice advance warning of an attack, and it was nice to properly prepare.

"Either the enemy is extremely confident, or stupid. Let's hope for the latter." Mina said in a sudden fit of maturity.

"I agree. Mina, please be careful while I'm covering you. I can't be right there, but I will be watching over you."

She moved into his embrace and smiled up at him. "My very own guardian angel."

The two shared a final, earth shattering kiss before she broke the close hug and transformed. Jonathan decided that he would have to hold up his end of the deal. Just so he wouldn't disappoint his princess.

He then moved to put on the borrowed combat boots that Darien had. He silently praised God that Darien was so prepared. Or he just had a bit of military junkie in him. Jonathan really didn't care which.

With the boots securely fastened and the girls all ready, Jonathan brought out his big gun. Lita, Rei and Darien all had large smile on their faces as he set the bipod up on the balcony. With his toy ready, he went and loaded the rest of his spare magazines, filled his pockets with 12-guage shells, and laid the shotgun against the glass wall of the balcony door.

"It's time." Ami said as they felt slight shockwaves emanating from a block down the street.

"Right! You guys know what to do. Luna, Artemis, stay here and help out Ami. Don't try to do anything stupid. This will all be over very soon."

The two cats looked as though they were about to say something, then stopped. Luna said to Artemis, "We'll tell him if we have to. Until then, let's just try to help as best that we can." With that decided, the group split up.

Jonathan caught them before they could leave. "Oh and guys!"

The group turned and faced their ally. "Yes?" They said in unison.

"No corny speeches!"


	16. The Battle For a Realm

**Disclamer**: I am in no way responsible for the ownership of said Moon, or any of her friends. I am a starving college student, so even if you wanted to sue me, you wouldn't get jack!

_Italics: Thoughts_

Chapter 16: "The Battle for a Realm"

Jonathan, Ami, Luna and Artemis watched as the rest of the girls and Darien jump to the street below, 4 floors down.

"Uh, Ami?" Jay looked a little sick.

"Yes?" she said turning to him.

"When we rendevous, I'm taking the stairs." Ami laughed and continued to type away on her little computer. Jay then had a thought.

"Hey, Ames! How long until those things actually breach the surface?"

Ami stopped typing and looked up, "We have about two minutes. Why?"

Jonathan just began to tare Darien's stereo away from the wall.

"Mood music!"

Ami just rolled her eyes.

Jonathan finally succeeded in moving the speakers out on the balcony so that the girls could hear and maybe encouraged. He didn't have to look very hard for the right CD. Darien, in all of his obsessive compulsive ways, labeled al of his burned CD's. Jonathan chose the "workout" CD. He hoped that it had just the right music. When it started, he cranked it, and to his utter surprise and amazement, the Top Gun theme started to play.

Darien and the girls heard the music and felt a brief boost. Serena turned to her boyfriend and said, "Hon, I never knew you had it in you. You never cease to amaze me."

That brought a blush to Darien's face, and he moved to kiss his love. Mina looked back to where her guardian angel was watching over her, and waved. She saw Jay wave back and blow a kiss. She made a motion to catch it, and then returned the favor. She loved how her new boyfriend was so fun.

_I hope that he and Artemis get along. Woah! _ _What was that! _Mina suddenly felt a tremendous shockwave, and almost fell. Serena would have, if she had not been in the arms of her lover. Rei and Lita turned to where the source of the shockwave occurred and gawked.

The original hole that the first Hell Knight appeared from was now glowing an even more blood red and menacing than before. Just as the heads of ten demons appeared over the top of the crater, a loud crack was heard from behind them, and the first shot of the battle took down a Hell Knight as it climbed out. There were only two Hell Knights present so far, and the girls were already trying to focus their attacks.

Behind the Knights, a mass of Maggots and ghouls were poring from the hole. Moon finally snapped out of her terror at seeing these monsters. The Scouts were still not used to these frightening yomas. The Negaverse only had goofy looking ones. Somehow, Serena thought that if there really was a Hell, then these must have come from it!

As the girls readied themselves for attack, another loud crack was heard and the second Knight exploded in blue-gray ooze.

"Mina, tell your boyfriend to leave some for us!" Rei yelled over at Mina.

"I think the music has gone to his head." Mina laughed and crescent beamed a maggot right between its two heads.

"Hah! Take THAT! I do better without the gun!"

Before she could say anything else, a ghoul had snuck up on her and was about to swing his bladed arm at her. When she noticed a presence behind her, she turned and it was too late for her to ready an attack. She readied herself for a quick end, but to her surprise, the ghoul disintegrated before her eyes. She regained her composure and waved to the balcony.

_My Guardian Angel._

Jonathan was lying prone on the balcony, his .50 caliber AT rifle ammo standing to his right, ready to be used at the moment it was needed. He already felled two of the biggest demons on the field. He felt tired from just shooting two of the things.

_Damn! How come I feel like crap already? I only fought with Lita for a little bit this morning! I shouldn't be this tired!_

He shrugged off those feelings when he saw the ghoul sneaking up on Mina. He yanked the bolt back on the side of his rifle, letting the shell fly away. He grabbed a fresh round, and rammed the bolt home. He sighted the ghoul in his scope, sucked in half a breath, and squeezed the trigger. The round struck the ghoul and it simply disintegrated. He noticed that he didn't feel as tired as when he dropped the Knights.

_That's odd. I think that I might finally be understanding this! _ Before he could finish his train of thought, his services were needed once again. He left the thought on the back burner as he helped out Mars with a quick shot at a group of ghouls surrounding her. They vanished in a gray cloud of liquid. Mars shook herself of the gray blood, and glared at Jay. Then she smiled and waved.

"Wow! Ami remind me to never make Rei mad!" His request fell upon def ears, as Ami was still typing furiously at her mini-computer.

"Heh, just find out their weakness and make it snappy! I'm running out of ammo here."

Jonathan returned to his task of covering.

Moon and Mask were having a grand old time taking out the weaker ghouls and Maggots.

Moon sent three of the Maggots to their hell with her tiara attack and Mask finished off five ghouls with his sharp cane. Serena noticed that the Hell Knights and a large number of ghouls passed them and were headed for Darien's apartment.

"Mask!" She yelled for his attention.

"Yeah!"

"We let some through! They look like they are headed for your place!"

Darien followed her gaze and froze. The Knights were being killed as soon as Jay could reload, but the ghouls were using them as a shield. Finally, all of the ghouls, about 50 of them, reached the lobby of Darien's apartment, and started making their way inside the building.

Lita, Rei and Mina saw this happening as well, and they tried to get to Darien's apartment. Before they could move, they heard a voice from the direction of the gaping hole to hell.

"Well, well, well. So this is the pitiful resistance this realm has thrown at us. No matter. The ghouls will take care of the Avenger." The fire-red headed man said, his long purple rode flowing behind him. He had a body suit similar to the ones the Dark Genreals wore, but it held on clear seams. It looked as though it was never meant to come off.

The girls turned and said, "Who are you?"

He looked at them and snapped his fingers. Maggots started swarming out of the hole and running toward them.

"Oh crap! I can't believe that this is happening!" screamed Lita as he charged up another supreme thunder attack. Before she could attack, a loud battle cry echoed from the depths of the hole that would make a grown man cry out right. Luckily, the Scouts faced death so many times before that they weren't afraid of much. The figure that rose from the hole shined a dark obsidian with red veins bulging and a light gray aura surrounded it. It then opened it's four glowing, blood red eyes arranged in pairs one on top of the other, and glared at the three girls. It was at least a foot taller than the Hell Knights, and slightly more massive. It had two mouths, one in the other, like the aliens from the same movie, which it flashed at the girls.

When his eyes settled on Mina, they narrowed.

"Yyoouu! II rreemmeemmbbeerr yyoouu! Yyoouu wwiillll bbee ffiirrsstt!" His stereo voice carried a weight of vehemence as he charged at Venus.

Before he could get any further, two more cracks filled the air, and two big holes appeared in the Behemoth's chest. He merely flinched and kept on coming. The girls then heard a very angry war cry form behind them.

Jonathan was out of ammo.


	17. A Day That Changed Two Worlds Pt1

Disclaimer: I know that I am new at this, but I still know that I have to put one of these up here. I don't own any of this cool Sailor Moon stuff, or my dream girl for that matter. If only... Mina... drools.

Anyway, I wanted to say that I hope people are enjoying this, and if you have gotten this far, then I am glad that you have read this. I am thinking seriously about a sequel, becuase the ending I have is suprising, to say the least. Please let me know how you think this is going, and any constructive criticism would be greatly appriceated. I am sure there are those who love flames, but I would have to tell you to redirect those to any Jar-Jar or chibi things that might possibly be more annoying than my story. Well, I think that I have rambled enough, so here you are, the latest chapter of Faith and Dreams.

* * *

Chapter 17: "The Day That Changed Two Worlds" 

"AAAAARRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Uh, Merc? I think we're gonna have a problem here." Jonathan said when he fired his last two shells at the Behemoth.

"Just a bit more! I almost have it!" Mercury was typing away at her mini-computer and didn't even look up.

Jonathan heard loud crashing coming from the floors below them, and he remembered the ghouls that he missed a while back. They were coming and were not going to stop until they killed everything in their path.

"We're out of time! You have to get out of here now! Take what you have, grab Luna and Artemis, and get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" When he finished yelling, the door on the elevator down the hall blew out and ghouls came charging down the hall. Jonathan gave an aggravated growl as he shoved Mercury out onto the balcony. The strains of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" were blaring from the speakers.

_Too bad it isn't "Thriller". _He thought to himself. _How appropriate would that be_? After closing the glass door, he reached down and grabbed his shotgun. "Now, lets do this!"

He leveled the gun at the front door to Darien's apartment and waited. In a few seconds, the door was ripped from it's hinges and thrown across the room, allowing a swarm of undead into the small living space. He got a glimpse of what they looked like up close. They had gangly features; almost all of them were skeletons in various states of decomposition. They wore rags that hung loosely from various parts of their bodies, and they all sported some tissue and muscle over their frames.

Before any of them could react, Jay sent two of them back down to hell with a blast from his shotgun. The ghouls caught the blast in what would pass for their chest, shattering the bone and mucsle that was left there. They disintegrated shortly after being shot.

The moment the ghouls saw their companions go down, they growled in an unearthly way, and lunged into the room. Jay pumped the slide violently to let another shell into the breach. The ghouls noticed his actions, and moved to get him while he reloaded. The ghouls crawled all over the furniture in the room, trying to reach Jonathan at the back, up against the balcony glass door. He fired two more shots into the mass of un-dead, and four more ghouls went down. That's when the leader of the group, a ghoul with a primitive blade, tried to catch him without any ammo. Jay let the half-skeleton get to within point-blank range, and he smiled. The ghoul stopped the downward motion of his ugly blade, and he let out a confused grunt. Jonathan pulled the second trigger on the gun, letting the shell in the second barrel rip into the chest of his attacker.

The ghoul flew back and dissolved when it hit more of its friends. He looked past the closest attackers and saw that the ghouls were blocking his way out.

"Damn! Why,"

BLAST!

"Does,"

BLAST!

"All of the,"

BLAST!

"Crazy SHIT,"

BLAST!

"Happen in Tokyo!"

BLAST!

Jonathan said as he fired time after time into the demons closing in on him. He realized that his supply of ammunition in the gun ran out, and it would take him a second to reload. The ghouls took the opportunity and lunged. Three ghouls managed to make it to his position, and he was hit square on by the middle one, which carried him through the glass door, shattering it, and out over the balcony floor. His momentum carried him out over the railing and he plummeted to the street below. As he fell, Jonathan saw the three ghouls jumping off the balcony after him. He kept a tight hold on his shotgun, and used his left hand to pull out one of his 1911's. On the way down, he fired up at the three, using a full clip, but succeeding in vaporizing the demons.

"What?" He suddenly said when he realized that he didn't hit the ground. He looked around, and to his amazement, he was on his feet, standing on the asphalt. _Woah. How did I do that?_ _No time to stop and think. Just act. _He reminded himself. He let the empty magazine fall from his pistol, and grabbed another full one from his pants pocket. He slammed it home, cocked the slide, and replaced it into his holster. Then he grabbed twelve shells from his jacket pocket and reloaded his shotgun. When he pumped the slide to cock it, he turned and saw what the girls were facing. The Behemoth was stopped in his advance by the fire-red head. They were the only enemies left out of the entire forward invasion force. The red head started clapping when Jonathan joined the girls.

"And who might this clown be?" he asked the girls. Mercury came up to the group, and turned off her visor.

"Well, I do believe that that "clown" is the leader of this outfit." she said with a smirk.

"What? Come on, Ames. What about that bigger one?" Lita asked. She was still itching for some payback from her first fight.

"Oh, he's probably the second. The smaller red head has more power though. We could take out the bigger one with a Planet attack."

Jonathan went stiff from the words that she said. He immediately spoke up. "No! You won't have to do that. I have twelve shots left in this thing; combine that with all of your most powerful attacks, and that should bring him down, right?"

The girls all looked at Mercury, who was staring at her once again active visor. She gave a thumbs up, and all of them turned again to face the two remaining demons. They were now just 20 yards away from the group, and the red head moved slightly in front of the Behemoth.

"Well, nice of you to show yourself, Avenger." He was facing Jonathan when he spoke.

The group all turned to him with puzzled looks on their faces.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, clearly exasperated with the enemy. This was the first one who actually tried to talk to them. _And I thought_ _we might have finally gotten lucky with enemies that weren't interested in chatting. Oh well._

"I'm sure that you do. Why else would your weapons effect us? Normally, only magic would harm us, but you seem to have that ability as well. Enough! My master has demanded that this realm be dealt with, and I intend to rule here!"

Something dormant flashed inside Jonathan when he heard that. It was a feeling of a memory that was not his however. A name flashed before him and settled over the red head.

"Beelzebub." he seethed.

"You may NOT call me by that name, worm!" Beelzebub cried. He responded by snapping his fingers and the Behemoth behind him dropped into a ready stance.

"I don't think so! You guys are going to pay for coming up here with that attitude!" Sailor Moon said. The rest of the group just rolled their eyes, and prepared for the first move.

Jonathan made it. "Lets Roll!" He said as he charged at the beast. He came within 10 feet of the thing, and let loose a double-barreled blast from the gun. It hit the monster in the right torso, shredding tissue and muscle as the rounds tore through its body.

The beast reacted faster than he could have imagined. He cleared the 10 foot distance in on stride, and swept a massive forearm out that caught Jonathan while he aimed for another shot. The collision of the arm with his body caused Jay to fire and hit the legs of the beast this time. When the arm stopped moving, Jonathan kept going until he finally came to a scrapping stop on the asphalt.

"Ow! That's gonna leave a mark!" His back was all bloodied and torn from his trip. He winced in pain as he got up to the sounds of the girls charging up their attacks.

**Rhapsody!**

**Revolution!**

**Sniper!**

**Shock!**

**Annihilation!**

Jonathan got up and hurried to where the Behemoth was about to be bathed in a swath of destruction. He looked up and smiled, "I won't miss this time!"

The demon looked down at him with recognition flashing on his face, before Jonathan sent a third double barreled blast right into the monsters head. The blast sent metal shot through the monster's face, ripping and tearing it's way through all of the soft tissue it could find. The Behemoth's neck caught some of the force, and it was shredded. The loss of a soilid foundation let the head of the beast fly away trailing a long line of gray blue ooze with it.

That was when the girls attacks finally connected with the rest of the monster, causing it to disintegrate.

They all breathed a sigh of relief, and Jonathan dropped the now empty and smoking shotgun to his feet. He was exhausted from his fight, and the realization of how he could effect the demons finally made sense. He smiled at the group and was about to go to Mina, when they heard the sound of more clapping coming from behind them.

"Shit. I forgot. Him" Jonathan sighed and turned to face his new adversary. Beelzebub just grinned at him and motioned for him to approach. Jonathan held up his hand and gave him the "one second" gesture, and ran to the group.

"What are you planning?" Called out the red headed demon after him.

"A duel! Just you and me!"

Beelzebub was caught off guard, and he noticed that this was a very interesting turn of events. He started to pay close attention to the group of his so-called friends he was now talking rapidly with. He saw how they all seemed to look sad at what he was telling them. _This is going to be easy after I defeat this troublesome brat. The rest of them will crumble when I kill their leader! _Beelzebub thought. _Wait. Why did I just let this happen? _ He thought about the time that he was letting them prepare defenses against him. "Stupid!" He yelled and hit himself for being so.

He pulled his gray shining blade from out of his sub-space pocket, and called out to the Avenger, "You do not get any more time! Come and face your doom!"

* * *

So there you have it! I hope that I will start to get some reviews. I realize that my earlier chapters mentioned nothing in the way of reviews and thanks, so I fee that now is the time for the thanks. I want to thank my editor, Alicia Blade. She has helped me tremedously throughout this process, and I would like to redirect some of your attention to her works. 

Also, anyone who makes reviews will be acknowledged and your questions will be answered. For now, I hope that you all enjoy the show! Domo and Osu!


	18. A Day That Changed Two Worlds Pt2

Disclaimer:

I don't own Sailor Moon or anything in this story associated with that franchise. I do, however, own this story and any additional characters that I have thrown in to cause more mayhem in the not so peaceful city of Tokyo. Seriously though, how come all the bad stuff does happen there? Well, stick with me, kids, cause the story is just startin! That's right! This may be the last chapter of Faith and Dreams, but the sequel, Tangible Destinies, is already being written as we speak. And remember, Reviews are sought after with a lustful intensity that would put any man to shame! Well, maybe not THAT lustful, but they're still very nice to get. HINT HINT! ANYWAY, here it is, the final thing. And there was much rejoicing.

Chapter 18 "The Day that Changed two Worlds", pt. 2

Jonathan walked over to where the gang all gathered, rallying his jumbled thoughts.

_I really hope that I know what I'm doing. _He looked over at his new love and saw the pure heart she held behind those amazing sapphire crystals some call eyes.

_Oh yeah. I can do this. If anything, for her._ He quickly closed the circle formed by his new friends and motioned for a huddle.

"Okay guys. I think I can take this jerk." Jay said with enthusiasm.

"NO WAY! I won't let you do that! What would you do?" Mina yelled and latched on to his arm like a human vice.

The rest of the girls and Darien all started to protest, but Jonathan quickly silenced their speeches.

"Uh uh. You guys can't stop me. I've made up my mind. This is how it's got to be. I made a promise, not just to Mina, but also for the rest of you. I remember that you all have suffered so much for those that you love. Well, for once, will you let some one who loves you fight for you? I couldn't stand to watch if you guys get hurt, and knowing that I couldn't do anything. I just couldn't take it. You have no idea how much you guys mean to me, especially you, Mina." She blushed a deep red and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. He started again before she could speak.

"Now I don't know why, but I think that I just might have a chance. He didn't brush me off like some pest, so there must be a reason why he would fight me." That seemed to get their attention, and Ami, being the smart one, spoke up next.

"But what would you use to fight him with? I think that he has, wait... yeah, I knew that he has a magic blade that he has yet to use. Who knows what else he has up his sleeves?" The bluenette made a gesture to express her dislike of Jonathan's rash idea.

"I will not take any other suggestions. I won't sit buy and watch my best friends get slaughtered while I sat and did nothing! We will continue this conversation once the duel is over." He was about to turn around when they all heard a slimy voice call out, "You do not get any more time! Come and face your doom!"

Jonathan turned then and said, "Hold On, I'm commin. Keep your robe on." He flashed the gang a toothy grin and pulled Mina into a tight embrace.

"I love you," he said, looking down into her eyes, which had ceased to hold back the tears long ago. She looked up at him and replied, "I love you too." They then closed the gap between their lips as one, almost as if connected in thought and action by their own love. When they met, even while it was brief, the love shared between them carried out from the circle of friends like a wave, washing over the torn and broken Tokyo streets. Beelzebub was far from pleased. In fact, he almost looked as if he were in pain from the intensity of the kiss.

He finally screamed, "Enough!" and Jonathan and Mina broke their intimate connection.

"We'll finish that thought in a sec," he said, and walked toward his adversary. He closed the distance slowly, so as not to startle his prey, and he pulled one of his .45's with his left hand.

"Ha! You are seriously mistaken if you believe that you can hurt me with that, boy!" 'Bub' (AN: I got tired of writing out his name) pointed at his gun with a lanky finger.

"Just shut up and let's dance already." Jay said as he lined up a shot. Bub took one look at the black abyss at the end of the gun, and thought better about standing his ground. He wasn't feeling cowardly today, just not very keen on having to pick lead out of his flesh. He'd not missed out on what that weapon did to his minions.

Jay squeezed off a round that whizzed by the red-head who started to run toward him at a frightening pace.

_How the heck can he... oh. duh, demon. _He cut himself off from that stupid thought before it got him killed.

Bub raised his right hand, and in a flash of red light, a gleaming onyx blade appeared in his grip. Jonathan fired twice more at the approaching demon, but the rounds flew wide, allowing the red head in close. When they finally met, Bub brought his evil blade down in a fast arc that would have bisected Jay, had he not used the gun to block the swing. The screech of metal on anti-metal was horrendous, causing a brief flare of sparks before the onyx blade absorbed them. Bub grinned a sadistic grin at his quarry from behind his black blade, sensing he was getting the upper hand. Jonathan couldn't hold out much longer, having to fight off a demon with other-worldly strength after having most of his sucked from him earlier. Instead of letting his blade slice through his head, Jonathan pushed up with a swift burst of energy and rolled tot he right out from under the blade. He wasn't fast enough. The hellish blade bit into the flesh of Jonathan's shoulder, cutting a two inch deep incision. The pain was tremendous, and Jonathan let out a howl of rage-filled pain.

"OH YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH! NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!" When he finished his rolling spin, he brought the heavy pistol up in line with the form of Bub, who was following his movement to the right, however a little slower from the shock of the tongue-lashing he just received. He pulled hard on the trigger another four times, until he heard the distinctive _click _announcing an empty chamber. Growling with disgust, he threw the empty pistol at his adversary, causing him to duck further back, and giving Jay time to pull his second gun with his right hand. The two of the four shots actually hit Bub, one impacting his right side, where a kidney would be on a human, and the other hitting his left shoulder.

"Ah, I see an eye for and eye, is it? Not very becoming of you," Bub taunted as he shrugged off the pain, letting the blue-grey blood run freely down from his wounds. Jonathan looked up through determined eyes while holding his injured shoulder.

"Go back to Hell." He said as he raised his last weapon at his adversary.

"Go ahead. Try me." Bub said, lifting his arms out to the side, inviting the pain to come.

Jonathan needed no further persuasion. He let fly, pulling off round after round, sending .45 caliber rounds slamming into demon flesh and muscle, shredding the tissue and flesh before ripping free of the cage of skin and exiting in an even more violent manner than entering. Beelzebub shook from the impact of seven large slugs shredding his torso, and the amount of matter leaving his body would have sent even the most conditioned killing machine to meet his maker. When Jonathan finished his rage-induced trance, the click of the hammer striking air and the low laughing assaulted his ears.

"Ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Has the mighty Avenger lost his will to battle? Come now, Where is the sting of the first shots? How come I am not a pile of ashes like so many of my followers? You've lost your edge. Now, you will lose your life."

Beelzebub approached the kneeling Jonathan with a raised blade, ready to deliver a killing blow, when they were both interrupted.

"DON"T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM YOU BASTARD!" Mina screamed as she prepared her meteor shower.

"Ah the children. Oh, I just had a thought," Bub said as he looked down at a stern-faced Jonathan.

"I think that I shall make you watch them die!" As he turned to move toward the gang, Jonathan reached out and grabbed on to the edge of Bub's robe.At the touch, bub swung around and brought his blade to bear on Jonathan's chest. The feeling of metal sliding in between ribs and piercing his left lung was nothing compared to the hate he felt for the demon who had threatened his dream. Suddenly, It all made sense. Kneeling there, with an un-holy blade piercing straight through him, and an empty .45 pressed against Bub's heart, he finally figured it out. He was living his dream, and He would not let his purpose slip away along with his life.

"They are my purpose!" he breathed, causing a look of annoyance mixed with confusion to bloom on Beelzebub's face. He felt the tingling sensation once again, but this time, he felt that it would not stop accumulating. The power must have also bled over to Bub, for eh was staring at Jonathan with a look of shock replacing his annoyance. Jonathan felt more power coming from the blade that protruded from his torso, flowing from his enemy.

"You can't do this! Stop!" Bub cried in terror at the realization of what his prey was doing to him. Jonathan felt the energy reach a peak level, and looked up at Beelzebub through his hair that fell in his eyes, and smiled a genuine smile.

"Don't worry. You can have it back. Bang." he whispered, and the energy that was collecting inside his body exploded out from the empty pistol, coring a hole the size of a soft-ball in Bub's chest cavity. The resulting force blew Beelzebub away from Jonathan, wrenching his evil blade from Jay's body, carrying with it a trail of his crimson blood. Screaming as he fell, his entire body began to dissolve into golden fired ashes, scattering in the cold, December evening.

After the shock of the violence passed, Jonathan was becoming aware of the intense burning in his chest every time he drew a ragged breath. From his kneeling position he fell back onto his back. The gang shook themselves out of their stupor at seeing that carnage, and rushed to his aid. Mina arrived first, gently raising his head to rest in her lap. She bent over his head and stroked his hair to try and ease both of their pain. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw, were two beautiful blue eyes looking down at him with love and sadness. He reached up to wipe one of her tears away, and then couldn't keep his hand aloft, for he was too weak. She gasped at his touch, and then began to cry. The speakers were playing a familiar tune, and Jonathan couldn't help but smile in ironic humor.

_All around me are familiar faces, _

_Worn out places, worn out faces._

_Bright and early for the daily races,_

_Going nowhere, going nowhere._

_Their tears are filling up their glasses,_

_No expression, no expression._

_Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow,_

_No tomorrow, no tomorrow._

_And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad,_

_The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had._

_I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take,_

_When people run in circles it's a very very,_

_Mad World._

_Mad World. _

Jonathan began to speak, but found that the breath that he needed to do so would only come at a very high price. With every intake of breath, his chest would hiss and burble from the injury. He prepared himself for on deep breath, and then tried again.

"Mina," he managed with difficulty, "You're warm." He smiled, then his face turned serious, "I want you... to know, thu, tha,... that I , realized something, just now."

She tried to shush him, "Don't speak. Serena is going to heal you..."

She didn't get to finish. Jonathan continued, "I just discovered, why I am here. I was meant... to save you. And I have finished my job. I want you... t, to," He drew in another hissing breath, "know, that I have always thought you were the... the most beautiful person I have met. I t has been such an honor. Please, promise, promise you will not forget me."

Mina couldn't contain herself any longer. The dam stopping her tears exploded and she sobbed with full force, holding onto his body like he was the only thing in the world.

"I promise, I promise, but you are going to be... you're gonna, be fine." She managed between sobs.

He actually managed a chuckle, "He he liar. Stick, to... humor. It's what you're good at." He lifted a finger to her lips. "Now, let's see that space-warming smile of yours, please." She tried her best, which was good enough for him. He lowered his finger and sighed. Mina would not let him go, and she lowered her head to his. They kissed the most passionate kiss both of them could have dreamed of; him letting her lips claim his for the last time.

Serena managed to heal his internal bleeding and his deeper cuts, but her energy claimed her consciousness, and she collapsed into Darien's arms.

Lita, Ami and Rei looked at their leader and scoffed, saying "Not again." when they were interrupted by Mina's sudden startled cry. A huge wall of white was approaching them from the east, engulfing all of the terrain in it's path.

Darien managed a, "What the..." before the gang was encased in bright, pure white light.

It only lasted a second, but the effect was like a 12 hour long sleep. The scouts and Darien all felt very rested and refreshed. Then Mina noticed the absence of a comfortable warmth that she had a few moments ago.

The next few hours were a daze for her. She moved through the wreckage of Darien's apartment with a glazed acceptance. Mina took his things, his clothes and his weapons, and went home. Later, she read out of his journal that he kept during his stay with them, and wept. She didn't notice that his cell phone had turned on, and was waiting for its next call, one that would bring about a new chapter in the lives of her and her friends.

The end. I know, it's not a very good ending, but I have the sequel to supplement this work. I couldn't just leave them there! I have been working on my style, and I have changed a few things in the sequel. Let me know how you liked it, and look for the rest of the saga to continue with "Tangible Destinies"! Thank you's go out to Alicia Blade for her superior editing skills, my cousin Lauren, for reading this stuff for me and providing feedback, and the many countless authors on Your stories give me ideas about style and diction, and I thank you all for that.


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